


My Soul

by WanderingScout



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bella is saneish as well, But you still wouldn't cross him, Fluff, Harry's confused, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Not sure if he will go back to Hogwarts, Runaway Harry, Sane Voldemort (Harry Potter), Soulmarks, Soulmates, Submissive Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:34:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23648554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingScout/pseuds/WanderingScout
Summary: On his 16th birthday Harry is surprised when he receives not one but two soul mate marks. Disillusioned with the light and knowing they will never accept his soul mates he decides to leave and see if he can discover a little happiness for himself. This will be slash of the triad variety :)
Relationships: Rabastan Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange/Harry Potter
Comments: 259
Kudos: 1294
Collections: Dark n Light Pairings





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there everyone, just the first chapter of a new fic I’ve been thinking about 😊 I’m still working hard on Dentelle as well. I’ve been thinking of doing a soulmate type fic for a little while so hopefully you all like it, let me know what you think! As always, I do not own Harry Potter.
> 
> Warning, there is some mention of abuse in this chapter, nothing explicit but just be aware.
> 
> Enjoy!

Harry sat in his bedroom at number four Privet Drive staring out the window. It was stifling hot in his small bedroom even at this late hour. He had opened his window a crack trying to get a cool breeze in, but it wasn’t helping. His body ached from the beating his Uncle and given him earlier in the evening. Harry hadn’t even done anything, simply been in the way when Uncle Vernon had gotten home from work and that had been enough. Now that his Uncle knew that his Godfather was dead the limited protection, he had drawn from that was gone and his Uncle had no qualms in beating him as he pleased. He pushed all thoughts of his Godfather out of his head before the sadness threatened to overwhelm him. Or if not the sadness then the anger, the anger that left him wondering if things would have gone differently if Dumbledore had only been honest with him earlier. He clenched his fists, gosh he was just so tired, there was just always something during the school year and then year after year he is sent back to this hell hole. He squirmed gingerly in his seat, the wounds in his back twinging painfully. Harry sighed running a hand gingerly through his hair, he knew there was a good chance they would get infected if he didn’t clean them soon but there was nothing he could do.

He looked at his watch, 10 minutes until midnight and his 16th birthday. He watched the minutes tick by trying to ignore the throbbing pain coursing through him. Hedwig hooted dolefully in her cage; Harry reached out a finger patting her gently through the bars.

“At least I’ve always got you” Harry said quietly continuing to stroke the soft feathers as the clock struck midnight.

As the clock ticked over Harry felt a warmth envelope his body, he looked down in amazement and saw that he was glowing, a soft gold radiating from his body. His whole body seemed to tense, and he stood up from his chair his back arching as he cried out softly in pain. He had no idea what was happening. The glowing and warmth only lasted a few minutes before slowly ebbing away. He felt different, a dull ache in his chest and he rubbed at the pain absently. He ran his hands over his body checking for damage but thankfully finding nothing more than was already there. As he lifted his hands to run them over his face, he noticed black swirling letters around both his wrists. 

He froze for a moment remembering something Hermione had told him before Ron’s birthday, something about soulmarks and 16th birthdays. Apparently, it was very rare, but some witches and wizards received a soulmark on their 16th birthday. The soulmark would be the name of their soulmate and would only appear if you were the younger and submissive of the partnership. The older wouldn’t receive a mark but would feel a pull towards their soulmate once they met after the marks had appeared. The bond would strengthen the longer they spent together. 

Harry took a deep breath trying to calm his pounding heart. He had a soul mate! Someone who was perfect for him, someone who would be there for him, maybe even grow to love him. But why was there a name on both of his wrists? Did the name usually appear twice? He had no idea, his knowledge of soulmarks limited to one conversation months ago.

He brought up his left wrist and saw the name Rabastan Lestrange swirling elegantly around his wrist and down his arm. He stared in shock, RABASTAN LESTRANGE! The notorious death eater was his soulmate! It was with some trepidation that he raised his right wrist to see the name Rodolphus Lestrange written there. Both of them, both of the Lestrange brothers were his soulmates! Harry was confused, how could this even be possible? 

He ran his fingers absently over the black writing his breath started to quicken as he thought about the ramifications of this. There was no way that his friends would accept this, no way that Dumbledore would allow him to be with his soulmates. Did he even want to be with his soulmates after what they had done, would they even want to be with him he worried? After all he was the face of the light side, even if he had begun to have doubts about them after everything that had happened to him. 

He began to pace his room thinking about Rabastan and Rodolphus, he knew next to nothing about them aside from that they were sent to Azkaban for torturing Neville’s parents. The mere thought of it making him feel sick. He knew Rodolphus was the older of the pair, but he wasn’t sure by how much. He also knew that they were both somewhere in their 30’s, much older than his 16 years. They both worked for Voldemort, so no doubt wanted him dead and Harry felt a pang of pain that his soulmates didn’t want him. But he knew if he stayed here, he could be dead by the end of the summer, with his treatment at the hands of the Dursleys worsening every day he didn’t know how much more of it he could take. He was skin and bones already and covered in bruises and wounds, he had a feeling that without his magic he probably wouldn’t have made it this far. With Sirius gone and the weight of his death laying on Harry’s shoulders he began to contemplate whether a quick death at Voldemort’s hands now would be a more preferable way to go.

Decision made he wearily stood up and gathered his few meagre belongings into a backpack, leaving behind all his schoolbooks and robes and only taking what he really needed. He thankfully had a pouch with some muggle and wizarding money in it that would hopefully get him by. He slid open his window silently thankful that Uncle Vernon had never bothered putting bars back on his window after Fred and George had torn them off. Opening Hedwig's cage he watched as she flew through the window knowing instinctively that she would find him again. He climbed out of the window hanging by his fingertips as low as he could before letting go and allowing himself to fall to the ground. He bit back a gasp as pain shot through him but swallowed it down and started walking. He knew he needed to put as much distance between himself and Privet Drive before anyone realised, he was missing. He wasn’t exactly sure how to make his way to Rabastan and Rodolphus, he supposed he would let the pull he felt for his soulmates guide him and hope for the best.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there readers, here it is, chapter 2! Sorry it has taken so long; I have been busy working on other fics. You’d think I would learn not to start a new fic while working on an old one, but sometimes the idea won’t leave me alone until I start writing it 😊 Anyway hope the second chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy!
> 
> Warning: There is mentions of past abuse in this chapter, nothing explicit at all but just wanted to give people a heads up.

Harry had made a successful escape from Privet Drive. He had pulled his invisibility cloak over himself as he’d crossed the Dursleys yard, knowing that Order members were supposed to be watching the house, but thankfully no one seemed to notice him leaving. He turned onto Magnolia Crescent, quickening his step, eager to be far away from Privet drive before anyone realised that he was missing. He had no destination in mind, aside from getting to London, probably Diagon Alley, though it would be difficult getting into the Alley without someone spotting him and reporting to Dumbledore. His body ached all over, there was a sharp pain in his left side and Harry grew concerned that one or two of his ribs might be broken.

Oh well, he thought with a weary sigh, there’s nothing to be done about it now. He didn’t even want to risk summoning the Knight bus, knew if he did it would only make it easier for the Order to track him. He had to do this the muggle way. As he walked quickly but quietly through suburban Surry he thought more about his predicament. Mainly, how on earth he was going to be able to find Rabastan and Rodolphus. He knew they would be holed up somewhere with Voldemort, Harry let out a deep sigh at the thought. Not only finding his soul mates but actually being with them was beginning to seem impossible. Honestly, even if by some miracle he managed to find the older wizards, what are the chances they would even want him, if he even lived long enough to find out what they wanted that is, Voldemort would probably kill him on sight. It frightened him a little how much the idea of dying didn’t actually frighten him. It would nearly be a relief after everything he had suffered.

He wished Sirius was still alive, to have someone, anyone to talk to about this. He knew that Sirius would have been on his side, would have wanted him to be happy. Harry couldn’t help a small sob escaping, he clamped a hand over his mouth, trying to hold himself back but it was next to impossible. With Sirius gone he was on his own again, as much as he had ever been. Sure, he had his friends, but they firmly sided with Dumbledore on everything he wanted. It was only Luna and Neville that really stood up for him, but there really wasn’t much they could do.

He decided to head to the train station, it was the quickest and easiest way to get to London. It was nearing one in the morning though and trains were few and far between. He sat on one of the benches on the station platform, clutching his bag to his chest, his invisibility cloak still wrapped around him, shielding him from view. Not that there was anyone around to see him. Though Harry wore a long sleeve shirt and pants, both 3 sizes too big for his petite frame, the night was thankfully warm, being the middle of summer, so at least he didn’t have to worry about freezing on top of everything else. He sat and waited, letting his mind drift to what he was going to do.

Getting onto Diagon Alley was the first hurdle, but he thought it would be doable if he kept the invisibility cloak around himself. It would be better to do it at night when there wasn’t as many people around. Once on Diagon Alley the first stop would be Gringotts to sort out his money. He needed to know how much he had and withdraw enough to last him a while, he had no idea what the future held and wanted to be prepared and he knew he wouldn’t last long if he ran out of money.

Harry stood as he heard the train approaching, boarding as the train doors opened. He looked around and noticed a few people, but thankfully they were all asleep or reading books and magazines. So, he took a seat near a window and closed his eyes, letting the gentle swaying of the train lull him into a restless sleep.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

He woke up to the sound of voices and looked around to see that they had arrived at Kings Cross Station and the few people in his carriage were making their way off the train. Harry stood, checking that he was still completely covered and made his way off the train as well. Being here reminded him of Hogwarts and how in a few short weeks he was expected to be back on the Hogwarts Express heading back to school for his sixth year. Truthfully though he wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to Hogwarts. Year after year there was never ending drama and cruelty, usually resulting in Harry being ostracized by nearly the entire student body or getting seriously hurt, sometimes both! He just didn’t think he could do it all again. No matter how things played out with Rabastan and Rodolphus he thought that his Hogwarts days were behind him.

Harry made his way out of the station, surprised at how many people were around at 2:00 in the morning. He tried to stifle a yawn as he made his way to Diagon Alley, the nap earlier on the train doing nothing to ease his weariness. Thankfully Diagon Alley wasn’t a far walk from Kings Cross Station and Harry found himself standing outside the Leaky Cauldron in no time at all. He stood for a minute, contemplating what he had to do, before cautiously stepping through the door. Harry’s eyes swept the room, taking in the few people sitting around drinking. Tom wasn’t behind the bar at the moment though, a short man with sandy coloured hair stood surveying the room. Happy crept through the pub, dodging a woman as she staggered her way back to the bar for another drink. He made his way to the brick wall and tapped it in the right sequence so that the wall opened up. He fervently hoped this wouldn’t count as doing magic and alert anyone to his location.

As he walked into the Alley he looked around, taking in how different everything appeared at night. The street was near empty which made getting around a lot easier. Harry slowly made his way towards Gringotts. Now that he was here, he found himself both relieved and anxious. Relieved that he had been able to get away from the Dursleys and make it here to begin with, but anxious as to what the future would hold. He sat in a dark corner between the side of the stairs leading up to Gringotts and the wall. He stifled a cry as he sore back made contact with the hard marble. He turned slightly so his head and shoulder were against the wall and his back wasn’t, curling into a tight ball and trying to get some sleep.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Harry slept restlessly, for obvious reasons. He felt a little more rested than he had though, so at least that was something. The sun was barely rising as he stood in his dark corner and waited for Gringotts to open. There were more people about and Harry was beginning to feel nervous. As the doors opened Harry waited a moment to allow the people milling about the entry to walk in first, before making his wait up the marble stairs and walking inside. Gringotts looked the same as it had every other time Harry had been here. He hovered at the back of the room until he saw a teller become available and made his way over. It wasn’t until he was in front of the teller that he pulled the invisibility cloak away from his face a little, so the goblin could see him. The goblin merely raised an eyebrow at the small teen in front of him, waiting for him to speak.

“Excuse me sir, I know this is a little unusual, but could I please speak to you in private for a minute” Harry asked, trying his best to be respectful and polite.

The goblin merely nodded, climbing down from his chair and indicating that Harry should follow him. Harry quickly slipped the cloak back over his face and followed the goblin to a back room.

“My name is, Gornuck, how may I help you, young sir?” the goblin asked, staring at Harry as he pulled his cloak completely off.

“I wish to withdraw money from my vaults, but I actually don’t have my key, is there another way that I could get the money?”

“Where is your key?”

“I’m actually not sure, I was never given it but whoever takes me to buy by school things at the start of the year always has it with them, so I’m guessing Dumbledore.”

The goblin frowned at that but pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it on the table between them before producing a sharp dagger.

“Cut your finger with that dagger and let the blood fall onto the paper, it requires 3 drops before the cut will heal itself” Gornuck directed.

Harry did as he was told, slicing a small nick in the top of his finger and letting the blood drip onto the paper. Just as Gornuck had said, the cut healed itself after a few seconds. The blood soaked into the paper and words began to appear.

_Harry James Potter_

_Mother: Lily Evans nee Potter (deceased)_

_Father: James Potter (deceased)_

_Godfather: Sirius Black (deceased)_

_Godmother: Alice Longbottom_

_Heir: Potter (through father) and Black (through Godfather)_

_Soulmates: Rabastan Lestrange and Rodolphus Lestrange_

Harry nodded as he read the paper.

“Very well Mr Potter, will you also be claiming your lordships now that you are 16? It will give you access to all of the Potter and Black vaults.”

“Yes please… wait there is more than one vault each?”

Gornuck grinned sharply. “Oh yes, many more” he said, before making his way out of the room. He returned shortly carrying two small boxes. He opened them to find two rings both gold, though one bore a red stone and the other a black stone. Harry slipped them both on and felt his whole-body tingle as the magic took effect.

“These rings will grant you access to any Potter or Black vaults whenever you come to Gringotts, they also hold some protective charms to help protect you from poisonings and the like.” Gornuck explained, seeming amused at the idea of Harry being poisoned.

The goblin also produced a small pouch, about the size of Harry’s hand. “This is a money pouch, linked to one of your vaults, it is only able to be opened by you and will automatically refill when he gets low. If you lose it, you will need to come back to get another. Now that you are of age, your Lordship rings will grant you access to your accounts. Your old key will no longer be able to be used.”

Harry nodded in understanding, taking the pouch and feeling the weight of gold within.

“This is really helpful thank you. But should I be concerned about spending all my money? I mean I’m just worried about running out with such easy access to it.”

“You need not concern yourself” Gornuck murmured, “with claiming both your Lordships you are now one of the wealthiest people in Britain. While I do not know your spending habits it is unlikely that you would be able to spend what’s in your accounts in 3 lifetimes.”

Harry’s eyes popped open in surprise at that but could think of nothing to say to such a statement.

“If you like I can arrange for monthly statements to be owled to you regarding your vaults?” Gornuck asked.

“Yes please, that would be great. I… ah… would also appreciate it if you told no one that I was here” Harry said, looking a little uncomfortable.

“Do not worry young sir, all transactions at Gringotts are completely private. Though, if I may offer a piece of advice, if you are wanting to escape someone’s notice I would suggest visiting The Mad Minotaur in Knockturn Alley.”

“Thank you, I will” Harry said, filing the information away for later as he stood up to leave. Harry swung his cloak back around himself and followed Gornuck back out into the main lobby before hurrying out the main doors into the sunshine beyond.

He was immensely pleased with how the visit to Gringotts had gone and decided that he would visit The Mad Minotaur straight away. Once he sorted out how to stop himself from being found by Dumbledore and his cronies he would be able to concentrate on how to find Rodolphus and Rabastan.

Diagon Alley was much busier now than it had been when he had entered the bank, it was still quite early, but Harry knew the Alley was full of Hogwarts students doing their back to school shopping. Harry didn’t dare take off his invisibility cloak in case he ran into anybody he knew. He made his way down Diagon Alley until he came to Knockturn Alley. Harry had only been here once before, when he had floo’d to the wrong fireplace before second year. He had thought it had been a seedy place then, but that’s exactly what he needed now. Thankfully Knockturn Alley was a lot quieter than Diagon and Harry made his way down it with no problems. He wandered until he came to a shop with a rusted old sign hanging from the front _‘The Mad Minotaur.’_ The place looked as old and shabby as everything else on Knockturn Alley, but Harry had learnt long ago not to judge a book by its cover. So, he steeled his courage and took a deep breath, he checked no one was around before pulling off his invisibility cloak, stuffing it in his bag and making his way into the shop. Harry noticed a man browsing the aisles and kept his face turned away as he made his way to the front, where he found an old man with a short scraggly beard and narrowed brown eyes.

“What can I do for you?” the stranger asked gruffly.

Harry quickly looked around to make sure that no one was nearby before looking up. If the man recognised him, he gave no reaction, for which Harry was grateful.

“I’ve heard you are the person to speak to if I wish to stay off someone’s radar.” Harry said quietly.

The man gave him an appraising look before nodding slowly.

“Aye, that’s right.”

“I… I need to stay hidden” Harry continued quietly, thinking despondently of just how many people he was trying to hide from.

“First things first, you will be needing a new wand, have you got money for it?”

Harry just nodded as the man continued to talk.

“OK good, just down the street is a shop called Clarise’s see her and she will be able to fix you up with a wand that won’t be able to be traced. If you stay in wizarding areas or a wizard’s home the ministry won’t be able to pick up that you are underage either. It will be able to detect magic but won’t be able to tell who’s casting it.”

“That’s very good to know, thank you.”

“Second thing I can do for ya, is this here necklace.” The mad said as he pulled out a thick silver chain with a large green stone in it. “Put it on and it will change your appearance, this one is a twenty-year-old male with auburn hair and blue eyes. The only thing it can’t cover up is soul marks, so I suggest you make sure you keep your wrist covered if you bare one” he finished casting a glance at Harry’s wrists and the names just peeking out from beneath his shirt.

Harry quickly put his hands behind his back, hoping that the man hadn’t been able to make out the words.

“Great, I will take it please” Harry said pulling out his money pouch. “How much is it?”

“27 galleons” the man grunted. “Be careful though, if the necklace comes off or is pulled off the magic will collapse, and your true appearance will come back.”

It wasn’t perfect but it was the best Harry had so he paid the 27 galleons. Harry fixed the clasp of the necklace around his neck and felt a shiver run through his body as his new appearance took hold.

The old man didn’t comment but held up a mirror for Harry’s inspection. Harry looked into the small mirror and was amazed at the changes he saw. He looked nothing like Harry Potter. His hair was now a dark auburn colour that hung straight to his shoulders, his eyes were no longer green but a soft pale blue. His skin tone was a little darker and gosh he was tall, he had to be at least a head taller than he had been previously. Harry smiled slightly, enjoying being tall for once after a lifetime of being short. His clothes had even changed to fit his new stature. His moved around and felt the pain shoot through his back, so his injuries were still there, it had been too much to hope that they would be gone as well.

“This is amazing” Harry said, seriously impressed. “Thank you very much.”

The man nodded, “you’re welcome. Now off with you to get that new wand of yours, if you really want to stay hidden.”

Harry thanked the man again as he made his way out of the store, he bumped into a man as he exited the shop, apologising as he walked away.

He walked slowly down the street, trying not to seem in a rush so as not to draw attention to himself. He looked in shop windows as he passed noting book shops and an animal menagerie before he came to a peeling gold sign stating _‘Clarise’s.’_

He feigned confidence he didn’t feel as he pushed opened the door and made his way inside. A very old woman stood at the counter and Harry realised that she was probably related to the man at The Mad Minotaur. They looked very similar. He smiled slightly at the idea of these siblings helping people to hide. Sure, it was probably usually criminals and the such but still, he felt lucky that there were people who did such things.

The woman watched him carefully as he made his way inside and walked up to the counter.

“I’m in need of a new wand please.”

The woman rolled her eyes so hard Harry was surprised she didn’t hurt herself. “Obviously.”

She waved her wand and Harry tensed as he felt the magic swirling around him. A parchment and quill appeared and began jotting down notes in front of the woman, who Harry assumed must be Clarise.

Clarise hummed as she read the parchment.

“Your new wand will be ready tomorrow, come back then.”

Harry stood confused for a moment at the blunt dismissal before inclining his head slightly and leaving.

He didn’t know what to do with himself now. He decided lunch was the next logical step as his stomach grumbled loudly. He didn’t want to go back to Diagon Alley, so he just kept walking until he found a small restaurant, it looked old and dinghy on the outside but when Harry walked inside, he was assaulted with the most amazing smell. His mouth practically watering as he breathed in deeply. Harry saw that the restaurant was immaculately clean, and a middle-aged woman stood behind the register with a warm smile on her face.

“Welcome, welcome” she said with a bright smile. “What can I get you?”

Harry took a moment to look at the menu before deciding on a roast beef and gravy roll and a bottle of water.

Harry took a seat at one of the small tables as the woman made up his order and brought it over.

Harry took a large bite and nearly groaned at how delicious it tasted, he chewed slowly savouring the taste. He knew from experience that he shouldn’t eat too much or too fast after the near starvation that he suffered at The Dursleys, not if he wanted to keep his food down anyway. As he ate, he watched all the different people coming in and out of the restaurant. It was obviously very popular, and Harry could understand why.

He was amazed at the variety of people, and perhaps a little chagrined to realise that most everyone just seemed like regular people. Not the dark, dangerous people Harry had imagined inhabited Knockturn Alley. Sure, some of the people did look dark and dangerous but they were all exceedingly polite, maybe they knew if they started trouble, they wouldn’t get any of this amazing food, Harry thought with a chuckle.

He was only halfway through his roll, but he could already feel his stomach protesting the amount of food he had eaten. Reluctantly he wrapped up the rest of his roll and put it in his backpack hoping that the gravy wouldn’t make it too soggy to eat later.

He thanked the hostess before walking back out onto the street.

Now that the most pressing issues had been dealt with Harry wasn’t sure what to do. He knew he needed some kind of plan before trying to find his soulmates. If he just ran in headfirst it would likely end up with him dead, before he had the chance to talk to Rodolphus or Rabastan. Also, the fact that he was done with Hogwarts, reached his limit with manipulative headmasters and friends that did nothing while he went back to an abusive home every summer, even though he had tried to tell them what was going on, didn’t necessarily mean that he suddenly wanted to align with the dark. With Voldemort. Honestly, he would prefer to stay out of the whole thing, prophecy be damned. He thought prophecies were self-fulfilling and had no intention letting it rule his life. How crazy was it that the wizarding world, who loved him one minute then vilified him the next, expected a 16 year old to take on Voldemort.

He decided that what he needed was information. Information on Voldemort. Information on his soul mates. He decided that Knockturn Alley was as good a place as any and better than most to try to gather said information.

So, if he was going to be staying for the indefinite future he needed somewhere to stay. Somewhere inconspicuous. But also, somewhere safe.

He came across a small motel and a group of apartments but after enquiring found that neither had any availabilities. It was later in the afternoon that he came across a pub, from the outside it looked as though there could be rooms to rent above it, like at the Leaky Cauldron, so Harry cautiously made his way inside. The pub as surprisingly busy considering it was well after lunch time but still a few hours before dinner. The pub, which was called The Leaky Pickle, was almost an exact replica of the Leaky Cauldron. It was set out the same with a bar and tables spread out around it, Harry spied the stairs that he hoped would lead up to accommodation. He ignored the looks he garnered as he made his way to the bar.

“Got any rooms to rent?” Harry asked, looking at the older man before him.

“Course” he said, “Just for the night then?”

“Ah, no” Harry started. “Could I book it for a week with the opportunity to extend it if necessary?”

“Sure, sure that’s no problem.” The man said as he reached behind the bar for a key. He pulled out a large metal key, rusted around the edges and handed it to Harry.

“Room number six is available, straight up the stairs, third door on the right. I’m Tim, just holler if you need anything.”

Harry thanked the man, taking the key and headed for the stairs, again ignoring all the eyes that followed him. He knew people would be suspicious of strangers, if he hoped to learn anything, he was going to have to make some connections in the Alley.

The door creaked ominously as he pushed his way into number six. The room was clean and tidy, if a little bare. A large soft looking bed was in the centre, with a desk to one side and a large cupboard for his clothes beside that. Harry saw another door and assumed it led to a bathroom. All in all, it suited his needs perfectly.

Harry opened his bag and placed his few meagre belongings in the cupboard. He added shopping for some new clothes and personal items to his list of things to do tomorrow, aside from getting his new wand. He took off the necklace and felt himself relax as he was himself again.

He decided a shower was a good idea, he needed to wash his wounds to hopefully stop the spread of infection. He made a mental note to also see about some kind of healing potion while he was out tomorrow. As it stood, he had no choice but to gently pulled the shirt away from his back, wincing as it tugged in places where the fabric had stuck to open wounds. He finally got the shirt and the rest of his clothes off and stepped into the warm water, letting the soft spray rinse away some of the blood and pus that had accumulated on his back. It was painful but also kinda soothing in an odd way, a cleansing of sorts.

He wondered if his soul mates would be disgusted by all the scars that littered his body. He chewed his lip at the thought before reminding himself that Rodolphus and Rabastan had been to Azkaban and probably had a few scars of their own. Hopefully they wouldn’t find Harry’s too off putting. The very thought of his soul mates not wanting him made Harry feel physically ill, he tried to quickly push those thoughts away but much to his annoyance they seemed to linger.

He climbed out of the shower and dried himself off quickly, feeling utterly exhausted after the draining day and the very little sleep he had gotten the night before. It was only 4.30 in the afternoon, but Harry decided to get to bed and have a decent night sleep for once. Living in fear at the Dursleys didn’t exactly encourage peaceful sleep. He pulled on his ratty old pyjamas and pulled the dark grey sheets up as he crawled into bed.

The bed was as comfortable as it had looked, and Harry relished in the feeling for a few minutes. Moving into a position that was easier on his back he closed his eyes, whispering “happy birthday’ to himself before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I know I didn't go into a heap of detail at the bank, with heirships etc, I just tried to keep it as close to the story in that aspect as possible :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is here! Thank you to everyone for all the kudos and comments, it really is a motivator to write 😊 I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter. 
> 
> WARNING: Mentions of past abuse, also Harry doesn’t eat a lot at the moment. He doesn’t have an eating disorder and isn’t being starved, just not eating a lot due to past starvation. I just wanted to put that out there so people are aware.

Harry awoke early the next morning disorientated for a moment about where on earth he was. It didn’t take him long to remember though, as the events of the day before came rushing back. He still felt tired even though he had slept for so long and his whole body was aching. He knew what it meant, infection was setting in. He would need to go out today and try to find something to help. He decided that he was in no rush to get out of bed though, so he just curled up once more under the soft blankets and closed his eyes. He didn’t fall back asleep, but enjoyed the peaceful moment, so rare in his life. He felt strangely lonely, his chest aching slightly, and he knew it was the soulmate bond. That his body and his magic was yearning for his soulmates, was telling him that they should be here with him but confused because they were not. He wondered what they were up to at the moment, probably still sleeping he thought with a small smile. Rodolphus probably with Bellatrix. He stilled at the direction his thoughts had taken him. Bellatrix. He had forgotten about her! He sat up abruptly, chest constricting and his breath coming in short gasps. Rodolphus was married, how could he have forgotten that fact! And married to Bellatrix of all people, the woman who had caused Sirius’ death. Of course, Rodolphus wouldn’t want him, he was already married and to a woman no less. He probably wasn’t even interested in men.

Harry took a deep breath, then another as he tried to calm himself down. He wiped the tears off his face that had escaped in his panic and laid back down in the bed. He tried to convince himself that there was no point in worrying about it now, he didn’t even know where his soulmates were let alone if they would want him, but the idea of one of them being off with his wife broke Harry’s heart. Which he knew was ridiculous, Rodolphus had every right to be with his own wife, but it didn’t change how Harry felt. And gosh it just complicated things even more.

His relaxing morning ruined, he dragged himself out of bed, having a quick shower and putting on his necklace again before heading downstairs in search of food. He made sure to wear a shirt with long sleeves to cover his soul marks, even if it may look a little odd wearing such a thing in the heat of summer.

He walked into the bar area and saw a few people scattered around eating breakfast. Harry made his way to the bar; a young woman was working this time.

“Ah, I’m after some breakfast?” Harry said, though it came out as more of a question.

The woman chuckled. “Here’s the menu, just tell me what you’d like, the cost will be added to your room tab.” Harry quickly scanned the menu and ordered eggs on toast with tea and went to find an empty table in the corner to wait for his food.

He spent the time people watching. Something he thoroughly enjoyed and had gotten rather good at in his younger years when he had no friends to play with. He watched the people around him eating and noticed that not everyone looked entirely human. Harry swore one gentleman looked like he could be a vampire. At another table was a small group, one person had several large scars on his face, while a woman’s arm was badly scared. They had a careworn appearance and Harry was immediately reminded of Lupin. Werewolves he thought. He supposed it made sense, many of these people wouldn’t receive a very warm welcome if they tried to venture into Diagon Alley, but of course everyone needed a place to shop and stay and eat. It made him quite angry to think about how poorly some people were treated, who cares if they were a vampire or a werewolf. Lupin was one of the kindest people Harry had ever met but had been vilified his whole life simply for being a werewolf.

The woman with the scared arm must have noticed his staring and looked over at him with a glare on her face. Harry just gave her a small smile before glancing away. His eggs and toast were delivered, and Harry was proud of himself for managing to get down one slice of toast and a few bites of eggs. The man who had delivered his food gave him a dubious look as he cleared away Harrys plate and teacup.

He walked out of The Leaky Pickle and started his search for some kind of potion shop. He really needed to do something about his back, he was feeling particularly awful and knew things would get worse if he didn’t do something soon.

He wandered around, keeping a close eye on his surroundings as he went. Knockturn Alley was longer than he had realised. Even though he had walked a bit of it yesterday there was still at least half the Alley to go. Most of the shops looked decidedly harmless but Harry thought that many dark things probably lurked beneath the surface, they would obviously have to keep up pretenses if the ministry came sniffing around. He walked until he found what he was looking for, an apothecary. A bell chimed as he entered the shop and to his great surprise he was greeted by a ghost. It was the first time that he had come across a ghost outside of Hogwarts and he was surprised to say the least.

Thankfully the ghost just chuckled at his shocked expression.

“Never come across a ghost working in a shop before?” he laughed, and Harry just shook his head dumbly.

“Well my name is Arnold; I started this shop many years ago. My son and grandson run it now, but I still hang around to help out where I can. My grandson should be back soon if you would rather wait for him to return to serve you?”

Harry shook his head briefly to clear his thoughts.

“No, no that’s OK. I’m sorry if I was rude” Harry said with a blush, embarrassed by how he had been acting.

At that moment the door swung open and a young man entered. He looked to be around 19 or 20 and it took Harry a moment to realise why he looked familiar. Higgs, he had been at Hogwarts the same time as Harry, though a few years older and in Slytherin.

“Grandfather, I managed to get the aconite that you wanted. We really lucked out; they were almost out.” Higgs froze as he spotted Harry. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Is grandfather looking after you?”

“I was just about to before you interrupted” Arnold said, playfully swatting at Higg’s head, his hand sailing right through.

A snort of laughter escaped Harry and caused both man and ghost to turn and look at him.

“Don’t mind us,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m Terence, how can we help you today?”

Harry’s eyes flicked between the pair for a moment, much more intimidated now there were two people in front of him, even if one of them was a ghost.

“I ah… need something to fight infection in the body and heal some open wounds.” Harry said shyly, glancing away as he spoke.

Terence and Arnold shared a look.

“Certainly, that’s no problem.” Arnold said, floating over to a section on the far right, Terence right behind him.

“Here we have a pain-relieving potion” he said pointing to a bottle on the shelf. “This one here” he said pointing to another, “will fight infection in the body, though if it’s bad you may need more than one dose. And this one will heal minor cuts, scrapes and bruises, though if the damage is more extensive you will have to visit a healer.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “Great, I will get a pain-relieving potion, two potions for infection and one healing potion please.”

Terence nodded pulling said bottles off the shelf and walking back over to the counter.

“What’s your name by the way?” Terence inquired as he bagged up Harry’s potions, slipping in a pamphlet on the correct times to take each dose. “We don’t get too many strangers around here.”

“Oh, I’m Harry.” Harry had decided that morning that it would just be easier to go by his usual first name and omit any surname. He didn’t look anything like Harry Potter and there was plenty of Harry’s in the world, it wouldn’t be unusual for there to be another Harry floating around. Plus, it had the added bonus of Harry not getting confused if someone called him by a different name.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Harry” Terence said with a smile. “Hopefully we will see you again soon.”

“Thank you” Harry said, picking up his purchases and exiting the shop. As soon as the door shut behind him, he pulled out the pain-relieving potion and drunk it down. He decided to wait to take the others as he knew the healing would take a lot out of him and he still had a lot of things he needed to accomplish today. He didn’t notice that he was being watched by the inhabitants of the apothecary as he stowed the now empty bottle with the full ones in his bag and started walking down the street.

He thought it may be too early to pick up his wand, so Harry decided that clothes shopping was next on the agenda. Thankfully he had spotted a shop not too far up the street and quickly made his way there.

There were a few customers in the shop when he entered so Harry wandered the aisles seeing what clothing they had for sale, he ran his hands along soft cotton and silk, enjoying the feel of them against his skin.

Eventually a sales lady came to assist him.

“How can I help you today?” she asked brightly but Harry could tell that her smile was a bit strained. She had probably had a busy morning.

“I need a few new outfits, pants, shirts, robes, both casual and formal. I also need some underwear and socks.”

“Of course, of course” the woman said leading him over to a measuring stool, seeming much more enthusiastic now that she knew it was going to be such a big order.

A tape measure magically took his measurements as he stood on the stool.

“I’ve got your measurements now, why don’t you have a wander around and pick out somethings that you like and then I will magic them to fit you perfectly based off your measurements.

Harry climbed off the stool as the woman went back to the counter to serve another customer.

Harry took his time as he walked around. This was really the first chance he had had to go shopping for himself, for things over than school supplies. He wanted to get things that would both look good but be comfortable. He pulled off shirts, pants and robes in varying colours and materials. When he was done, he walked to the counter and put everything down. The woman cast, what looked like a complicated spell over the pile and Harry saw the clothes readjusting to his measurements.

“I also require some pyjamas and casual clothes for my young brother, he is about 14. Could you please pick me out a few things and add them to my pile?”

The woman seemed only too happy to help, rushing off and coming back a few minutes later with comfortable looking pants and shirts as well as a few pairs of blue and green pyjamas.

“That’s great, thank you” Harry said sincerely, and the woman smiled at him as she began bagging his purchases.

Harry, his arms now sagging under the weight of his shopping bags made his way back out on to Knockturn Alley. He had spent quite a long time picking out his clothes, so it was now well after lunch time, but Harry didn’t feel hungry, so he made his way back to Clarise’s to pick up his new wand. He was excited to see it and just hoped that it worked as well for him as his old wand had. Harry still had his old wand in his bag, it didn’t make sense to be defenceless if an emergency came up, but he felt better knowing that once he had his new wand, he could cast spells without detection.

Clarise’s was exactly as it was the day before, right down to the glaring old woman standing at the counter.

“Here it is” she said gruffly, sitting a box on the counter before Harry had even managed a greeting.

Harry sat down his packages and opened the box to find a beautiful honey brown coloured wand inside. It looked to be a tad longer than his holly wand.

“Acacia wood, twelve inches, hippogriff talon core” Clarise said as Harry picked up his new wand. He felt a familiar rush of warmth through his arm, similar to when he first picked up his holly wand. The feeling of belonging. He smiled softly, waving the wand and a bunch of flowers appeared, which he deftly handed to Clarise who promptly dropped them in the closest bin. Harry had to bite back a snort at that.

“I’ve never heard of a hippogriff talon core for a wand” Harry said.

Clarise nodded as though she wasn’t surprised by that information. “They aren’t very common but make for very good wands for those with enough power.”

Harry smiled, knowing that she wasn’t paying him a compliment, simply stating a fact.

“This wand was designed and made especially for you; no other wand will work as well.”

“Thank you” Harry said sincerely, sliding the wand into his empty holster on his arm.

“That will be 18 galleons.”

Harry handed over the money without complaint, put the empty box away before collecting all his bags and leaving the shop. As he walked out onto the street, a large body slam into him, knocking him to the ground, and painfully pulling at the wounds on his back.

“Watch where you’re going” the man snarled before storming off.

Harry lay there frozen for a moment, to startled to do anything else.

The man looked vaguely familiar, but Harry couldn’t place where he had seen him before.

He pulled himself up on shaking legs, only to find a warm hand gripping his arm to help steady him. Harry amazingly didn’t flinch at the unexpected contact, but he did jolt slightly. It felt like there was an electrical current running through his skin where the man was touching him, his entire world focused in on that one point of contact. He looked up into soft hazel eyes, that were looking back at him with a confused expression.

“Don’t mind my friend,” he said, nodding his head after the man who’d stormed off. “He lacks the proper manners to be out in society,” the man said in a deep gravelly voice that caused a shiver to run down Harry’s spine.

Harry snorted, “so basically, he’s an arsehole?”

The man grinned, “yeah, pretty much. But you get used to it. Well, I better catch up to him. Goodbye.”

Harry stood there dazed, watching as the man kept shooting glances back at him as he walked away.

He slowly gathered his purchases again and made his way back to the Leaky Pickle. He gave a small wave to the man behind the bar before making his way up to his room.

He was beyond exhausted again but feeling accomplished. He carefully unpacked all his new clothes into his wardrobe before pulling out the remaining potions. He swallowed the one to fight infections first and nearly gaged at the taste of earth that washed through his mouth. The healing potion was a much better, having a pleasant citrusy taste. The potions started working nearly immediately. He felt the cuts on his back start to knit back together and the warm ill feeling that had plagued him all day began to fade. He laid down on his bed to rest, as his body, with the help of the potions, worked to right itself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m loving all the comments on this story, thanks everyone! I hope you like the latest chapter.
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter.
> 
> WARNING: Again, there may be mentions of past abuse and the repercussions of said abuse. This will be a recurring theme throughout the story, so I may not put a warning at the top of each chapter, but just please be aware.

When Harry awoke the next morning there was no moment of confusion, just a feeling of relief. He rolled over and snuggled into the warm blankets, chasing the wonderful dream he had been having, flashes of dark hair and dark eyes swimming through his vision. He knew it was still early by the way the sun was hitting his window, conditioned to wake up early by the Dursleys Harry relished in the chance to sleep in, even if he wasn’t technically asleep. He had no real plans for today, he wanted to go shopping for some more personal items, the pub supplied soap and things of that nature but they weren’t of the best quality and Harry wanted to go shopping for some things of his own. He also decided a trip to a bookstore was in order. He knew his knowledge of the wizarding world was woefully poor, but he was determined to change that. He finally had some free time to read what he wanted to, and he was going to make the most of it. It also helped that his soulmates were purebloods from an old family, and Harry wanted to better understand the world they came from.

His stomach grumbled loudly, and Harry remembered that he hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner yesterday. A nice breakfast was definitely in order then. He climbed out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe. Marvelling at the fact that he even had a wardrobe filled with clothes. His new clothes were lovingly placed inside, and Harry carefully selected a new outfit- A soft cotton black long sleeve shirt and black jeans, he pulled a black robe over the top then eyed himself critically in the mirror deciding eventually that the all black number worked for him. He had forgotten to take his necklace off to sleep last night so was still in his other Harry persona. He ducked into the bathroom to scrub his teeth and straighten the long auburn hair before heading downstairs for breakfast.

As he entered the main bar area, he noticed the man who had cleared his plate the day before was serving. Harry gave him a hesitant smile before quickly ordering eggs on toast again, this time with a goblet of pumpkin juice before taking a seat at the same table as yesterday. Harry laughed at his own predictability.

The breakfast was just as good as the day before, though Harry didn’t quite manage a whole slice of toast this time. He did manage a few more bites of eggs though and drained his whole goblet of juice happily. The man came to collect his plate again, giving Harry the stink eye at how much food was still left.

“Thank you, it was delicious” Harry said politely, and the man’s harsh expression softened.

“You sure? You’ve barely touched it.”

  
“Oh yes, I’m quite full” Harry responded, causing the man’s eyebrows to furrow.

Harry knew that he didn’t eat much, but he just couldn’t help it. Years of living on barely any food at the Dursleys had conditioned him this way. No one at Hogwarts had noticed, or if they did, they hadn’t said anything about it.

Harry stuck out his hand, “I’m Harry, it’s nice to meet you.”

The man gave his hand a quick shake, “I’m Julius, usually work the morning shift so if you’re here for breakfast you will see me most days.”

“Well that’s good to know” Harry said with a smile. He wished Julius a pleasant day before walking out of the pub, intent on starting his errands.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed like making his morning difficult as he ran into someone standing just outside the door. Harry took a stumbling step back, flinching at the still lingering pain in his body, even if the potions had cleared up the worst of it. He shook his head and decided then and there that he was going to have to start paying even closer attention to his surroundings, this was the third time he had run into someone in as many days.

As he looked up, he was surprised to see that the person he had run into was Terence.

“Oh, hello Terence.” Harry said surprised. “Sorry about that, I really need to watch where I’m going.” Harry finished with a self-deprecating chuckle.

“Not at all Harry, that was just as much my fault as yours. How did the potions go for you yesterday?”

Harry froze for a moment, looking up at Terence to find him staring at Harry with an assessing look in his hazel eyes.

“Oh, they weren’t for me. I was getting them for a friend.” Harry lied. He didn’t even know why he was lying, just that it had become so ingrained in him to lie about the abuse that he did it without thinking now.

Terence looked at him as though he didn’t believe a word Harry was saying.

Quickly wanting to change the subject, “what are you up to any way Terence? Doesn’t your grandfather need you in the shop this morning?”

Terence looked like he wanted to protest the change of topic but decided to let it go.

“Father is there at the moment, I am delivering some potions this morning,” Terence explained.

“I actually have a few things to do myself if you want to walk around together?” Harry offered.

“Sure,” Terence agreed easily.

“I hadn’t actually been to Knockturn Alley before this visit,” Harry said as they started to walk. “So, any tips or advice would be really appreciated.” Harry decided this was the perfect opportunity to start scouting for details about Voldemort and his followers. Or at least get an idea on the inner workings of Knockturn Alley; his home for the foreseeable future.

“Hmm, first thing to remember about Knockturn Alley is that we take care of our own. Knockturn Alley is a safe place for a lot of people, sometimes criminals yes, but also people with creature blood. Or even people who are looking to escape a dire personal situation.” Here Terence shot Harry a pointed look, which Harry promptly chose to ignore.

“Any issues that come up we prefer to deal with on our own, once the Auror’s come in it creates a whole lot of problems, and I am telling you now no one will thank you if you bring the Auror’s down around them.”

Harry nodded in understanding looking serious, so Terence kept talking.

“A lot of the shops here are classed as dark, but that really just depends on your perception. I personally feel it’s the intent in which you use something that decides whether it is light or dark. Anything sold along here has the potential to be dangerous, just like anything on Diagon Alley.”

Harry was listening intently as Terence continued to talk. He had never thought about it before, but he had a point, the world wasn’t black and white, made up of good and bad, light and dark. Harry knew that it was something that he was going to have to give some more thought to over the next few days. Right now, though, he needed to concentrate.

“Just be polite and stay out of other people’s business and you shouldn’t have too much drama.”

“Drama seems to find me” Harry said wryly, and Terence chuckled.

“Right, where are we off to first?” Harry asked.

“First stop is The Bowtruckles Snare, it’s a Herbology shop.”

Off they set, Terence introducing Harry to the kind woman behind the counter when they arrived at The Bowtruckles Snare. While Terence chatted and handed over the potions, Harry was enchanted by a plant that looked a little like old mans beard, but it was carnivorous, though really only had a penchant for bugs and insects the sign said. The soft vines curled gently around Harry’s hand and he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the poor thing in the shop.

The woman who ran the shop (Harry later found out her name was Veronica) wandered over.

“This fellow is known as Hangman’s noose, very loyal to their owners but can be deadly to someone they don’t like, though they are usually quite docile. Their vines can grow and shrink at will and they are happy to catch their own food.”

Harry grinned and reached into his money pouch, buying the plant instantly. He carried the small pot in his arms for the rest of the morning while they shopped. Much to Terence’s amusement, Harry decided to name the plant Herbert.

Their next stop was a beauty shop, that performed a variety of complex spells and administered different potions, to make people look younger, change hair or eye colour, they even did just simple plain haircuts. Of course, everything was temporary which is why people kept coming back and they were doing such a roaring trade. Terence pulled a small box out of his pocket and laid it on the counter of the shop, enlarging it for the shop’s owner. While Terence went over the order with his customer, Harry wandered the aisles, Herbert tucked in his arms as he grabbed a variety of things. Shampoo and conditioner, a new toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, deodorant and moisturiser. Herbert helped him carry it all, holding the shampoo and conditioner in his vines. Terence lifted an eyebrow at Harry as he made his way back but didn’t comment.

“So, do you have a favourite quidditch team, Harry?” Terence asked as they continued their shopping.

“Hmm, not really. I always went for The Chudley Cannons, but that was mostly because of a friend of mine. I think I will have to watch a few games and re-evaluate who my favourite team is.”

“Well, if you’d like any company at the games, I would be happy to go with you.” Terence offered. “My favourite team actually is The Chudley Cannons though.”

“That would be great!” Harry said excitedly. “I’ve only been to one quidditch game before, outside of school, so that sounds really fun.”

“Alright then, I will look into tickets for us.”

Harry smiled brightly at that.

They did some more shopping, Harry getting a few interesting books and Terence introducing him to a few more people as he did his potion rounds.

“I have to head back to the shop soon” Terence said after he had delivered his last potion. “Did you want to grab some lunch first?”

Harry nodded, though he didn’t feel hungry at all after eating breakfast.

They walked back to the Leaky Pickle and took a seat in the usual area. Harry sitting Herbert on the table beside him. The soft grey, green vines falling onto his leg and wrapping gently around his knee.

“So, how long have you been staying here?” Terence inquired.

“Oh, just a few days. Not sure how long I will be staying for though. Sorta have nowhere else to go at the moment.” Harry said awkwardly, turning away from Terence’ inquisitive gaze and starting to look over the menu.

He ordered a salad when Julius came to take their order, while the older ordered fish and chips.

That chatted for a while, Terence explaining about his potion work, and work at his family shop, while Harry offered a little generic information about himself.

When lunch arrived, Terence dug in with gusto, while Harry managed not even half of his salad before he was full. He knew better than to push himself, it wouldn’t help if he ate too much and made himself sick. Instead, he tried feeding Herbert a tomato, the vines wrapping around the fruit for a moment before simply dropping it on the ground. Harry snorted in amusement, “OK so no tomatoes.”

Terence eyed Harry’s nearly full plate critically as they stood to leave but thankfully didn’t say anything. They made plans to catch up again another day and Harry headed back to his room with a small smile on his face, silently celebrating that he may have made a new friend. It was also exciting, not only that he had made a new friend, but he had started to understand the workings of Knockturn Alley a little better, as well as the people that live and work there. He thought it much more likely that he would be accepted if people saw him with Terence, the older teen was obviously very popular and knew everyone well, judging by his interactions all morning.

When he made it back to his room, he plopped down on his bed exhausted. He sat Herbert on his bed side table in the sun, before getting him a drink of water. He then tipped all his shopping onto the bed and started sorting through it. Putting his new personal care products in the bathroom and lining his new books up on his bedside table. He had got books on a variety of topics. One on soul marks and soulmates, another on wizard culture and customs, another on pureblood traditions and lastly one on wizarding laws and how the Wizengamot works. He hoped the four books would begin to fill in the vast gaps of his knowledge, it was nearly embarrassing how little he actually knew about the wizarding world. No one had ever bothered to explain, and he had never bothered to investigate further. It was like a whole side of their world was unknown to him and Harry was determined to learn more.

He felt exhausted from his busy morning and could tell his body was still fighting an infection from his injuries, so before settling in with one of his new books he took the last potion he had to fight off infections. He would see how he was feeling in a few days and go back and see Terence if he found he was still struggling.

He laid back down on the bed, enjoying the warm feeling that overtook him as the potion made its way through his system.

When his head felt a little clearer, he reached over for his book on soul marks and soulmates, settling in to spend the afternoon reading. It wasn’t a large book, small and thin, with an emerald green cover and gold swirling writing. The book was so small that it only took him a little over an hour to read the whole thing. Harry guessed that there was really only so much one could say on the topic, and it seemed that the instances of soul marks were so rare that there just wasn’t a lot of information available. They weren’t non-existent, but only a few were reported every generation. They had become something of a fairy tale, told to the young or romanticised in books.

What Hermione had told him had been the basics of it all. As Harry read, different parts jumped out at him.

 _The submissive in the partnership,_ or triad in Harry’s case _, would receive the soul mark on their 16 th birthday. The dominant would not get a mark but would be drawn to the submissive once they meet, after the submissive turns 16. This pull would get stronger the longer they were together, resulting in the soul bond forming. It would be physically and mentally damaging for them to be separated for long periods of time, especially during the early stages of the bond forming, this would hold particularly true for the submissive in the relationship. The dominant will feel nearly an obsessive need to ensure that their mate is safe and protected. This desire will only worsen when the submissive falls pregnant. _

Harry had nearly choked on his own spit when he had read that. At first, he thought they had been talking about female submissives, but nope apparently when one was with their soulmate, anything was possible, including a male falling pregnant. Apparently when he fully accepted the bond his body would change, making it possible to fall pregnant.

He liked the idea of a family someday, but that day was a long way off.

_Many soulmates develop extra abilities, though these vary greatly between bonds. Some develop the ability to feel their mate’s emotions, while others can speak telepathically. No one knows how or why these extra abilities develop, though it has been speculated that is a way for the dominant to better protect their submissive._

Harry liked the idea of being protected and kept safe. He didn’t think he had ever truly felt safe before. He supposed he had with his parents but that was a long time ago and couldn’t remember it.

After finishing the book, he sat and processed for a few minutes. Aside from the whole being able to get pregnant thing there hadn’t been anything that was too much of a surprise. Once they met, Rabastan and Rodolphus would start to feel drawn to him, to the point that being away from each other for very long would become difficult if not impossible. He supposed that would be helpful as he actually didn’t even have a clear idea of what his soulmates looked like. The only pictures he had seen of them had been the ones that had appeared in The Daily Prophet after their escape from Azkaban. He still didn’t have any real plan; he was hoping perhaps that they would come to Knockturn Alley sometimes or that he would pick up word of where Voldemort was hiding out and try to visit them there. Perhaps he should try to get some more up to date pictures of them, though he supposed if they went out at all at the moment it would be under heavy glamour’s, or a charmed necklace like what he wore.

He ran his hands wearily through his hands, let’s hope for them visiting Knockturn Alley plan. He didn’t know how he was going to convince Voldemort not to kill him, aside from hoping that Rabastan and Rodolphus could persuade him.

One problem at a time, he told himself firmly as he picked up his book on wizarding culture and customs and began to read.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone to the amazing response to this story so far. I’m loving it 😊  
> I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter.

The next few days passed in much the same fashion as the first few had. Harry ate breakfast in The Leaky Pickle before going for a walk through Knockturn Alley, he had avoided Diagon Alley even with his disguise, not wanting to take the risk. He had helped Terence a few more times with his potion deliveries and was becoming much better acquainted with the Alley. Harry was really beginning to like the older Slytherin. He was smart and funny and had a love for potions that bordered on obsessive, Harry imagined that he had been a favourite of Snape’s while at school. They were fast becoming friends and the idea made Harry smile warmly. Harry had even managed to pick up a bit of work at The Leaky Pickle, nothing crazy, just helping to serve tables and clear plates during the busy dinner time rush. He had only started a few days ago but was quite enjoying it.

Getting the job had been a complete fluke, he had been down for dinner one night and watched the poor serving girl run off her feet taking orders and clearing tables, even with the help of magic she was struggling. So, Harry had stood up to help, getting the food to the right people and clearing away the dirty dishes. The serving girl, Sarah, explained that they did usually have an extra person helping but they had quit a few days ago and they hadn’t managed to find a replacement yet. Harry had just nodded in understanding, happy to help. After the rush had quietened down Tim had wandered over and offered him the job, which Harry had happily accepted. Harry couldn’t remember the last time something had worked out so easily for him.

The pub got loud and busy during the dinner period, but Harry enjoyed the craziness, it pushed all his other thoughts and worries away and allowed him to just live in the moment.

He chuckled softly as a large group over near the door hollered for their food. They were werewolves and a very rowdy bunch, talking and laughing and pulling each other into headlocks seemingly at random. Harry dodged out of the way as one of the group was pushed out of his seat and landed in a heap on the floor at Harrys feet. He sat the plates he was holding on to the table and waved his wand so the plates trailing in the air behind him flew to the right people. Ignoring the man on the floor as he pulled himself back into his seat

“Thanks Harry!” The group chorused loudly as they tucked into their food.

Harry shot them a small smile before heading back to the bar to collect the next order.

“Watch it” a man said gruffly as Harry made his way through the crowd, Harry startled badly at the gruff voice so close, thankful that he wasn’t carrying plates of food he took a few deep breaths before continuing on. He knew it would take him a while to get used to people being in his personal space. He was so unused to a friendly touch that it made him feel nervous and panicked if anyone got to close to him, especially unexpectedly. 

Harry wiped the sweat off his forehead and cast another cooling charm on himself as he finally made it to the bar. Even with cooling charms the pub was stifling hot when it was this busy on a summer evening.

“Alright there Harry?” Sarah, the other server asked as he stopped to take a breather.

“Yeah I’m good” Harry said with a smile. “Just needed to catch my breath.”

Sarah gave him a nod, “maybe you should try wearing a short sleeve robe instead, it’d be a lot cooler,” her attention was pulled back to the customer in front of her, thankfully saving Harry the trouble of having to answer.

He delivered a tray of drinks to a group of witches who were cackling merrily about the size of some bloke’s broomstick, before he hastily delivered a meal to a hag sitting in the corner watching the room in silence.

He heard someone calling his name and turned to find Terence sitting with a group in one of the larger booths. Harry waved back, before making his way over.

As he drew closer Harry recognised the other people with Terence; Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey and Cassius Warrington.

Flint and Warrington gave Harry matching looks of suspicion while Pucey shot him a small smile.

“Hey there Terence, I didn’t know you were coming in tonight.”

“It was only a recent development. Marcus here just got promoted at work, so we decided to come out to celebrate” Terence explained, pointing to Flint.

“Well, congratulations on the promotion” Harry said with a smile, trying to ignore the glower that Flint was sending his way.

“These are my friends, Marcus Flint, Cassius Warrington and Adrian Pucey. Boys, this is Harry. He is staying at The Pickle at the moment and has just started working here.” Terence introduced.

Harry nodded in greeting at the group.

“Terence has been talking about you a lot Harry. You best be careful, or you’ll start to make his girlfriend jealous” Pucey said with a grin.

Harry chuckled at the joke, but surreptitiously pulled on his sleeves to make sure that his wrists were covered.

“Ooh better be careful” Flint said with a broad smile. “Mirella knows a number of nasty hexes.”

Terence just rolled his eyes at his friends’ antics. “Ignore them Harry, they’re just teasing you, Mirella is lovely, and she would never harm you. She knows who my heart belongs to.”

“I don’t know, it sounds like Pucey might be the jealous one here.” Harry teased. “Don’t worry, Terence will still have plenty of time for you even though we’re friends now.”

Pucey spluttered for a moment speechless, while Terence, Flint and Warrington laughed.

Harry winked at Pucey, hoping there was no hard feelings, thankful when Pucey just smiled back.

“Well I better get back to work, it was good to meet you three. I will see you later Terence.”

As Harry was walking to collect the next order of food, he noticed a large group of people enter. They were mostly men, but a few women were with them. Tim hastily ran out from behind the bar and rearranged several tables so that there was room for the large group. The room had quietened down as the group entered and took their seats, Harry realised that everyone had turned and watched for a few moments before returning to their conversations and meals.

Harry continued to watch for a few moments longer. He didn’t recognise anyone in particular but a few of them looked familiar, like they may be related to someone he knew from Hogwarts. Harry quickly turned away and went back to work.

The good thing about working at The Leaky Pickle was that you were so busy, work just flew by in no time at all. Harry who had never had an actual job before, relished in doing a good job and getting paid for it. It was very different to all the unappreciated labour he had been forced to do at The Dursleys.

As he delivered the next few orders, he became aware that he was being watched. He turned and looked around the room, spotting quite a few people from the large group that had entered earlier staring at him. Thinking they must need help with something Harry made his way over.

Harry swallowed thickly as he saw that everyone at the table was now watching him, he had never liked being the centre of attention.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, “anything I can help you with?” He asked to no one in particular.

“No, no” the man in the centre answered. “We were just trying to place if we had seen you before. You see we come in here quite often for a meal and haven’t come across you yet.”

Harry looked at the man, jolting slightly as he felt a tiny current run through his scar, he rubbed it with a sigh of frustration before nodding in understanding to the group. The people who frequented Knockturn Alley were a suspicious bunch, this actually wasn’t the first time he had been questioned and he had only been working here a few nights!

“Yeah, I am new, been staying at The Pickle, but only started working here a few days ago.” Harry explained. “I only work during the dinner rush, just helping to deliver food and clear plates.”

“Ah that would explain why we haven’t come across you before.” The man said.

Harry just nodded again, beginning to feel awkward, he wondered if it would be rude if he were to excuse himself and just walk away.

“What’s your name?” a man further down the table asked.

Harry turned to look at the man who had spoken and felt himself still, his breath catching in his throat. Everything else seemed to fall away as his whole world zeroed in on the man. He was tall and broad with caramel coloured hair and calculating hazel eyes, though Harry noticed that his whole body was tense as though poised for flight… or a fight. Harry thought he looked handsome, though while part of him felt like there was something completely right about the man, he also felt that there was also something wrong about him also. It was a weird combination and Harry found himself confused at the feelings that were surging through him.

Someone walked past bumping into him from behind and jolting Harry out of the near trance like haze he had been in. Harry subconsciously reached for his right wrist, rubbing it where it had started to burn slightly.

“Ah, it’s Harry.” He said in a rush as he started to turn away. “Don’t mean to be rude, but I better get back to work.”

Without waiting for a reply Harry turned and practically fled back to the bar, ignoring the eyes that he knew were on his back and the way his chest ached as he walked away.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Rodolphus was in a bad mood. It had been a long week, with no end in sight. Rabastan had been talking daily about a young man he had run into in Knockturn Alley earlier in the week. The way Rabastan told it, the sun shone out of the blokes’ arse. Though Rabastan thought he may have been wearing a glamour as the man had seemed perfect, but also kinda wrong. He couldn’t describe it properly but had no trouble giving Rodolphus a headache by trying to.

He sighed as Rabastan barged into his room while he was trying to get dressed for dinner. Plonking himself on the bed as Rodolphus tried to pick out a robe that wouldn’t be too hot.

“You better hurry up brother or you will have Bella in here tearing you a new one.” Rabastan said with a chuckle.

Rodolphus rolled his eyes but actually did hurry up and picked out a robe, quickly pulling it over his head and straightening it. Bella may be one of his best friends, but she could be downright scary when she wanted to be.

The two brothers walked out of his room at Malfoy Manor and made their way to the entry hall where a group of people were already waiting.

Bella bounced up, looking at him with a crazed grin.

“There you are dear; I was beginning to think I was going to have to go upstairs and hurry you up” Bella said and Rodolphus knew her well enough to pick out the subtle threat in her words.

He chuckled slightly, “no need for that, I’m here now.”

“Well thank goodness for that, we were beginning to worry” a light voice said from behind Bella.

“Ah Carmel you made it, so wonderful to see you” Rodolphus said sincerely, leaning down to kiss Carmel Zabini’s hand, then moving out of the way for Rabastan to do the same.

“I wouldn’t miss my Bella’s birthday for anything” the beautiful woman said, as she wrapped an arm around Bella’s waist and pulled her close.

Bella looked at the other woman with adoring eyes, before they shared a brief kiss.

Rodolphus smiled at the pair, happy that the two were finally back together after everything they had been through. Sure, he was technically Bella’s husband, but that was only on paper, their parents had forced them to marry even though both preferred their own gender. Rodolphus now thought of Bella as one of his best friends and he knew she felt the same way about him.

“So where are we off to tonight Bella?” Rabastan asked.

“The Leaky Pickle” Bella said with a grin. “Their chocolate mousse is to die for.”

Rodolphus heard a snort and looked around to see Draco standing nearby.

“Really Aunt Bella? The Leaky Pickle? We go there nearly every week.” Draco said with a sniff, though he had a small grin on his face.

“Yes, and we always enjoy it.” Bella said, staring at Draco like he’d lost his mind.

The blonde teen merely rolled his eyes and wandered back over to his parents.

Rodolphus looked around to see who else was coming out for dinner. There was the usuals, The Malfoys, Notts, Carrows and Zabini’s as well as Avery and Dolohov. It was going to be a big gathering tonight. Sometimes Rodolphus couldn’t believe that he was out of Azkaban and was able to go out to meals with his friends and family. Sure, he was out illegally, and they would all have to wear strong glamour’s, but he had learnt the hard way to enjoy the little things in life.

The group turned when they heard a throat clear from the bottom of the stairs.

The group looked on the newcomer with respect, some with awe and a decent mixture of fear.

Their Lord, though not as crazy as the light would have everyone believe was not a wizard to be easily trifled with. He had managed to reclaim his youth and good looks and most of his sanity thanks mostly to his Lords own immense power and knowledge and Snape’s brilliance at potions. He now looked like a man of a similar age to Rodolphus himself, with dark wavy hair and deep chocolate brown eyes. He radiated an aura of dark power that seemed to draw people in like moths to a flame.

Everyone moved aside respectfully, heads bowed as he walked through the group of people.

“Now none of that, we are here to celebrate Bella’s birthday after all.” Lord Voldemort said, looking around at his most loyal followers.

Immediately the group began to relax.

“I will need to cast everyone’s glamour’s before we leave, to ensure that no one recognises us. We don’t need those pesky Auror’s bothering us.”

“Or Dumbledore and his merry band” said Dolohov darkly, Rodolphus nodded in agreement at the sentiment.

The Dark Lord moved amongst his followers, casting glamour’s on all. They weren’t big changes, just little changes to hair and eye colour, tweaking the shape of noses or jaws. The best disguises were the ones that helped you blend in, not stand out.

Rodolphus turned to look at Rabastan and laughed. They still looked like brothers even though they now looked completely different. They both had the same caramel coloured hair and hazel eyes.

Rabastan eyed him critically for a moment, “I’m still better looking” he said with a smirk.

Rodolphus just rolled his eyes, God save him from younger brothers.

When everyone was sufficiently disguised, including the Dark Lord himself, they started to apparate in two’s and threes to the apparition point in Knockturn Alley.

When they had all arrived, they walked with confidence toward The Leaky Pickle, keeping a close eye on their surroundings to ensure that there were no unexpected surprises.

When they arrived at The Leaky Pickle the whole room quieted for a moment before abruptly kicking back into life. Rodolphus was sure that many had an idea who they were, but like true Knockturn Alley inhabitants they said nothing and left them alone.

They sat and started looking through the menu. Rodolphus wondered why he bothered; he always ordered the same thing anyway.

He looked up when he heard Rabastan gasp. “There he is! There he is!” Rabastan said excitedly and Rodolphus froze for a moment at the happiness pouring off his usually stoic brother.

The whole group, not very subtly for a group of mostly Slytherins, turned to see who Rabastan was talking about. Across the room stood a tall handsome man with shoulder length auburn hair and eyes that were lit up with amusement.

Rodolphus felt his heart literally stop as he took in the other man, he gripped the table so hard his knuckles turned white and he heard the wood start to crack under the strain.

What the fuck was going on? He wondered.

The sentiment was shared a moment later by Bella.

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?”

Rodolphus couldn’t seem to get his mouth to work well enough to answer her.

He ran his eye over the younger male, and while appreciating the view couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

“He is wearing a glamour of some sort” his Lord spoke from further down the table. I’m not sure what but I can see the magic coating his whole body.

Rodolphus managed to tear his eyes away from the red head to look at his Lord, thinking, that would at least explain the sense of wrongness that came over him when he looked at the young man.

“He’s the one I’ve been telling you about.” Rabastan said, smirking when he saw the look on his brother’s face. “There is something about him.”

“There is definitely something about him” Rodolphus said softly.

“He just seems like an ordinary man to me” said Lucius, from his place beside Rabastan.

As though sensing the attention he was being paid, the young man looked up, brows furrowing slightly in confusion before walking toward them.

“He’s coming over!” Rabastan said excitedly, practically bouncing in his seat.

“Will you calm down you ninny!” Bella hissed at him. “You’ll scare him away.”

Rodolphus felt his own heart start pounding in his chest, he moved his hands off the table, resting them in his lap before crossing them over his chest. He started panicking, what did he normally do with his hands!?

He ignored Lucius’ knowing grin before he settled for putting them back in his lap, he thought he looked less threatening that way. He was relieved to see that Rabastan had schooled his features into an impressive mask of indifference, though Rodolphus could see the tension still sitting in his shoulders.

The young man cleared his throat. “Anything I can help you with?” he asked awkwardly.

No one answered for a moment and his Lord snorting in exasperation started talking.

“No, no” he said, all calm surety. “We were just trying to place if we had seen you before. You see we come in here quite often for a meal and haven’t come across you yet.”

The younger man rubbed his forehead in frustration for a moment before the look changed to one of relief and Rodolphus saw him relax a little.

“Yeah I am new, been staying at The Pickle, but only started working here a few days ago.” he explained. “I only work during the dinner rush, just helping to deliver food and clear plates.”

Rodolphus stared, entranced by the sound of the young man’s voice. It was soft and melodic and Rodolphus felt his whole body relax slightly at the sound.

“Ah that would explain why we haven’t come across you before.” His Lord said staring intently at the young man who just shrugged. He cast a glance back toward the kitchens and Rodolphus knew he was about to walk away. Before logic could catch up with his brain, he started speaking.

“What’s your name?”

The stranger turned toward him and they both froze, like they had been caught in some kind of trap. The rest of the pub fell away as Rodolphus looked into blue eyes, his breath coming in short gasps. The moment was broken when someone bumped into the man from behind, bringing them both back to their senses.

He looked decidedly uncomfortable now and his brow was knitted in confusion.

“Ah, it’s Harry.” He said in a rush before starting to turn away. “Don’t mean to be rude, but I better get back to work.” And with that he took off back towards the bar and kitchens.

Rodolphus and Rabastan both sat watching as Harry walked away.

Snickering nearby brought them both back to the present.

“What on earth just happened?” Draco asked from his place at the end of the table beside Blaise and Theo.

Rabastan and Rodolphus looked at each other for a moment, and he knew that Rabastan had no idea what had happened either.

He cleared his throat while he got his thoughts together.

“I’m not actually sure, there’s just something about that man. I feel drawn to him, though I’m not sure why.”

“I feel the same way brother” Rabastan said nodding seriously. “I look at him and everything else falls away.”

The group looked at the brothers in surprise, neither were known for their way with words.

“It’s odd” Carmel said. “That you are both drawn to the same person. Neither of you have ever really had a partner before, have you?”

The group looked contemplative at those words.

Rabastan spoke up, “I… I’ve been with people, both male and female, but nothing serious. None of them ever felt right.” Rodolphus nodded in agreement.

Voldemort hummed but didn’t voice his thoughts.

“Our Lord said he is wearing a glamour” Nott spoke up.

“There could be a number of reasons for that” Bella said staring significantly at their whole table, everyone who was wearing a glamour.

The conversation moved on to other things but Rabastan and Rodolphus found their eyes and minds still lingering on the mystery of Harry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks for all the comments and kudos! They are amazing! Sorry this has taken so long and is a shortish chapter. I am crazy busy with university and getting ready to go on a four-week prac so not a lot of writing time but hopefully you enjoy this new chapter 😊
> 
> As always, I do not own Harry Potter.

**_End of Chapter 5_ **

_Rabastan spoke up, “I… I’ve been with people, both male and female, but nothing serious. None of them ever felt right.” Rodolphus nodded in agreement._

_Voldemort hummed but didn’t voice his thoughts._

_“Our Lord said he is wearing a glamour” Nott spoke up._

_“There could be a number of reasons for that” Bella said staring significantly at their whole table, everyone who was wearing a glamour._

_The conversation moved on to other things but Rabastan and Rodolphus found their eyes and minds still lingering on the mystery of Harry._

**Chapter 6**

Harry himself found his mind frequently wandering back to the group of people and in particular the man who had asked for his name. He would occasionally glance over at the table as he worked to find him, as well as another man who looked very similar watching him intently.

He would always blush when this happened and quickly look away, but like a moth to a flame he would find himself looking back over at the table not long after.

Now Harry was not stupid, no matter what the Dursleys would have him believe, he had a pretty good idea about who those two men must be. Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange. They looked different to the image he had seen in the paper, but Harry supposed they must be wearing some kind of glamour. It’s not like they could just wander the streets without one, what with them being escaped criminals and all. That meant the people around them were probably death eaters as well, maybe even Voldemort himself. Harry swallowed thickly at that thought and nearly dropped the plates he was carrying.

He had his soulmates right here in front of him, but he had no idea about how to go about approaching them. About explaining who he really was, without them or someone else at the table trying to curse him. He liked to think that his soulmates wouldn’t curse him but honestly who really knew.

The hardest part was now that he knew that they were right there all he could think about was going to them. He embarrassingly felt the urge to climb into one of their laps and rub himself all over them. Have them hold him safe in their arms. He bet it would feel amazing to curl up between them at night to go to sleep. He shook his head out of his daydream, now was not the time to be thinking such things. He collected the next lot of plates and wandered over to Terence and his friends again.

“Here you go; steak, fish and chips, chicken salad and spaghetti” Harry said as he handed out the plates.

There was a general chorus of “thank you” and “thanks Harry.”

Harry went to walk away but was called back by Terence.

“Have you got a few minutes to talk Harry?” Terence asked, patting the seat beside him.

Harry glanced at the bar and saw there was no food waiting to be delivered so he gave a quick nod and slipped into the seat beside Terence.

Terence carefully chewed the piece of steak in his mouth before he continued talking.

“You know how we were talking about going to watch a quidditch match together. Well Cassius was just telling us he has tickets to watch United vs The Cannons next week and I thought you may want to come with us?”

Harry was momentarily surprised by the offer, not having actually expected Terence to invite him to a quidditch match.

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” Harry said enthusiastically, causing Terence to smile brilliantly at him.

“Though I don’t know about the Cannons chances of a win” Harry said with a teasing smile.

Pucey started laughing and even Flint cracked a smile at that. Meanwhile Terence just glowered.

“Oh, we’ll show you!”

Harry laughed and stood up from the table. “You can tell me all the details during the week.”

“OK, bye Harry.” Harry gave them all a little wave before returning to work.

As he walked off, he failed to notice the two men now glowering at Terence and his friends.

**HPHPHHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

“What are you two glowering about now?” Dolohov asked, his voice laced with exasperation.

“Harry,” they both said in unison. “He was talking and laughing with that group of men over there.” Rabastan finished, waving in the direction of Terence and his friends.

“Yes?” Said Bella staring at them beadily. “Is there some reason he shouldn’t be talking to them, he is a young attractive male after all, he is perfectly within his rights to talk to whomever he wants.”

Rodolphus growled angrily at the words, while Rabastan slammed his hand down on the table.

The table looked at them surprised, but Rabastan couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop the anger coursing through him at the idea of Harry being with any of those other men.

“Isn’t that Higgs, Flint, Pucey and Warrington?” Blaise put in helpfully. “I recognise them from school and various different functions.

Rabastan’s eyes narrowed on the younger men, now that he was looking, he thought he recognised the younger Flint and Warrington.

The Dark Lord simply waved his hand, casting some kind of spell that caused the other four to immediately turn in their direction. Flint and Warrington jumped up and walked over, Higgs and Pucey trailing behind at a more sedate pace.

Rabastan felt a wave of magic pass over him and knew that The Dark Lord had cast a privacy charm so no one would be able to listen in on their conversation.

“My Lord,” Flint and Warrington said with a respectful incline of the head, while Higgs and Pucey just nodded their heads in deference.

“We didn’t realise you were here, or we would have come over earlier.” Flint explained.

“It is of no matter; we are simply out celebrating Bella’s birthday.” Lord Voldemort explained.

“Rabastan and Rodolphus are quite curious about the young man you were just talking to.”

“He is a friend of Terrence’s my Lord, we only just met him tonight” Warrington explained. “Invited him to come and watch a quidditch match with us next week.”

Rabastan’s eyes narrowed at the idea of them taking Harry anywhere.

“Higgs, is there anything you can tell us about Harry? It seems he has quite enraptured two of my best men.”

Terence stepped forward and hesitated for a moment looking uncomfortable.

“We wish him no harm at all and are simply curious about him.” The Dark Lord soothed.

Terence relaxed a little at that, and with an encouraging look from Marcus, began to speak.

“I don’t actually know too much about him myself. He came into my potion shop about a week ago, wanting to buy a pain potion, healing potion and a potion to fight off infection. All signs that he had come to some kind of harm. When I asked him about it, he claimed the potions were for a friend, however, I actually saw him taking one of the potions out the front of my shop, so I knew that was a lie. He is quite quiet and shy and doesn’t react well to physical contact” Terrence continued, thinking more of what he knew about Harry. “He’s funny though and loves quidditch. He has a plant named Herbert that he treats like it’s his own child and the thing absolutely adores him. Oh, he also doesn’t eat much, I mean hardly anything at all. It’s a wonder he isn’t thinner. I feel like he is maybe hiding from an abusive partner or family. He just has this sort of hunted look about him.”

Terence finished with a nod, “that’s all I can think of.”

“Thank you, Higgs, you four may return to your meals.” Voldemort said, dismissal clear in his voice.

They nodded and walked away.

Rabastan felt his blood boiling at the very idea that Harry may have been harmed in some way. Was that why he was wearing the glamour? To hide his injuries. He made to stand up out of his seat, his only thought was of getting to Harry. He saw Rodolphus out of the corner of his eye starting to stand as well before strong hands pulled them both back into their seats. Rabastan had to fight back the urge to snarl at Lucius for holding him down.

“What has gotten into you pair?” Carmel asked seriously.

“Whatever it is, you won’t win his favour by bombarding him during a busy night at work” Narcissa said seriously.

Rabastan tried to throw off his growing agitation, all he could think about was the fact that Harry might be hurt, and he needed to get to him.

“There is something decidedly odd going on” Rabastan said, after he managed to clear his head a little.

“Whatever it is we won’t figure it out tonight, sit and eat your food” Bella instructed seriously.

Rabastan looked down, surprised to find his meal sitting in front of him. He looked around quickly thinking he had missed Harry delivering it.

“Harry didn’t deliver it” Draco snorted, “Sarah did” he said pointing to another worker clearing the table beside them.

Rabastan slumped despondently, something strange was definitely going on and he was going to find out what.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Harry breathed a sigh of relief when the rush period came to an end and he was able to head back upstairs to his room. He was beyond exhausted; he was no stranger to hard labour, but it was late, and it had been a busy few hours.

He got undressed and took off the charmed necklace. He let out a sigh of relief at being back in his own skin, even if it was horribly scarred. He treated himself to a long hot shower before pulling on some clean pyjamas and climbing into bed.

Herbert had spread his vines all over the room, no doubt hunting for any insects he could find. He smiled softly as he felt Herbert’s vines tangle gently in his hair as he lay down to sleep. Harry ran his hand along the soft green appendages, muttering a quiet good night before falling asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So many comments and reviews last chapter, thank you so much, I loved reading them all. Here is another chapter and it will probably be the last for about a month. I start uni placement tomorrow which will no doubt keep me very busy, so hopefully you enjoy this chapter enough to get you through the next month 😊 hope you’re all well out there x.
> 
> As usual I do not own Harry Potter

Rabastan roamed Malfoy Manor feeling restless. It was like his body couldn’t relax and it was beyond frustrating. Even when he was asleep it was like his body was yearning to move, to be on its way. He knew Rodolphus was feeling the same way so assumed these new feelings were linked to Harry. He had wanted to go back to The Leaky Pickle the very next day to see the other man, but his Lord and not permitted it. The risk was too high to venture out to often, especially with the wizarding community on high alert after the debacle at the Ministry in June. But it frustrated Rabastan to no end.

Thankfully Malfoy Manor was huge, so there was plenty of room to roam. He turned down another hallway and ran into Rodolphus coming in the other direction.

His older brother let out a grunt at the sudden impact. “What are you doing?”

“Same as you I imagine” Rabastan answered with a sigh as they both began to walk.

Rodolphus nodded in understanding. “It’s like I get more restless, more anxious as the days go by.”

“I’m even struggling to sleep” he said with a weary sigh.

They continued to walk, ignoring the rooms they passed and the curious looks they gathered from said rooms occupants.

In one of the rooms, The Dark Lord, Lucius, Narcissa, Bellatrix and Carmel sat. They watched the two men walk morosely passed the door.

It was Wednesday night and they were enjoying a glass of wine after dinner.

“Something is not right with them my Lord, they’ve been wandering around like that for nearly a week, that Harry at the Pickle has done something to them. Cast a spell, slipped them a love potion, something!? I implore you let me pay him a visit, I’ll make him reveal what he’s done!” Bella stopped talking, a sinister grin spreading across her face and Voldemort was forcibly reminded of the unstable alter ego she presented to the world.

“He may have even hoodwinked those pair to try to get close to you my Lord, there would be some people who are aware of who you are.”

Lord Voldemort held up a hand to silence the rambling witch.

“I appreciate the offer Bella, but I feel this mission will require a little more finesse than what you may provide.”

Bella pouted at the words, but at least looked happy that he was taking the threat seriously.

“He is already going to a quidditch match with Flint and Warrington, I will simply ask them to bring him here to me after the match.”

Everyone looked suitably impressed with the idea.

“If it turns out that he has done nothing though, he will be free to go. If, however, he has harmed Rabastan and Rodolphus in some way, you may have your fun Bella.”

Bellatrix smiled happily at those words, the thought of punishing someone who had harmed her family deeply satisfying.

“I don’t know” Carmel interrupted. “If he was trying to hoodwink Rabastan and Rodolphus why has he made no effort to contact them, no move of any kind?”

“Perhaps he is waiting for them to contact him” Narcissa theorised as she took a sip of her wine. “You can’t deny that if our Lord had not stopped them, they both would have been in contact with Harry the very next day, after seeing him on the weekend.”

“That is true” Carmel agreed.

The group lapsed into thoughtful silence.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Harry though unaware of his soulmate’s dramas had been suffering just as much.

His chest ached and he had been unable to get a decent night’s sleep in days, tossing and turning all night long. He was eating even less than usual and considering how little he usually ate this was indeed worrying. He felt weak and it was becoming increasing difficult to even pull himself out of bed each morning.

He had hoped that Rabastan and Rodolphus would come back to see him, were they not feeling the pull to be with him like he was feeling the pull towards them? Or perhaps it was just easy for them to ignore. He had decided that next time they came in he would talk to them, hopefully he could get them on their own so he would have a chance to explain everything without being cursed.

He let out a despondent sigh as he continued down Knockturn Alley to Terence’s shop, thankful for the glamour that made him look like everything was OK.

He pushed open the door and smiled as Arnold floated over to him.

“Hello Harry, it’s good to see you again” the ghost greeted cheerfully.

Harry sent the ghost a small smile in return. “Hey Arnold, it’s good to see you again as well.”

Harry looked around the store a little, taking in the shelves of potions. There were a few customers around browsing, being helped by Terence’s dad, Trevor, at the moment.

“Is Terence ready? He said he needed my help with some deliveries this morning.”

“He is just finishing packing up the potions, you can go back and help if you like?”

“Sure” Harry said easily, slipping past Arnold into the back room, where he found Terence busy packing various potions into boxes.

“Harry” Terence greeted him happily when he spotted the blue-eyed man.

Harry smiled at the warm greeting. He had only known Terrence for a few weeks, but he already counted him as a friend.

“Need a hand?” Harry enquired.

“I’m just finishing up packing the potions, could you please put the lids on the boxes and shrink them.”

Harry nodded and pulled out his wand. His new wand was working well for him, though it was taking him a little while to adjust. His magic seemed stronger with this wand, and it took more concentration to put the right amount of power into his spells.

He waved his wand as he muttered the spell and the lids floated up, landing on a box and sealing themselves, before he shrunk them into an easier to transport size.

Terence packed the shrunken boxes into a bag and off they went, bidding farewell to Trevor and Arnold as they left.

“Thanks for your help today Harry, I could do it myself, but it will be much more pleasant to have your company.”

Harry while appreciating the sentiment and enjoyed spending time with his friend probably would’ve preferred spending the morning in bed trying to catch up on some sleep. Nether the less, he gave Terence a small smile.

“Happy to help. Where are we off to first?”

“How about you head to Clarise’s and I will head to Delizioso’ we can meet in the middle when we’re done.”

With that Terence reached into his bag and pulled out one small box and handed it to Harry. Harry took the box gently in his hands, mindful that it was full of expensive potions and wandered off. Thankfully Clarise wasn’t one for idle chatter, as Harry didn’t think he had it in him today. She took the box, handed over the money with a grunted thanks before disappearing into the back room. Harry stood still for a moment at the abruptness of the transaction before smiling slightly. He was beginning to appreciate the woman’s matter of fact attitude. He knew that she would treat anyone who walked into her shop exactly the same, and it was very refreshing to be treated just the same as everybody else.

He wandered back out onto the street and started heading in the direction of Delizioso’, hoping to catch Terence along the way.

He made it all the way to Delizioso’ with no sign of Terence so Harry assumed he was still inside chatting. The shop’s owner was known to be a bit of a gossip and Terence always got all the latest news from her. Harry decided to wait out the front of the shop, leaning against the wall and enjoying the morning sun on his face. He closed his eyes and listened to the hustle and bustle of the street around him. His chest ached and his wrists were throbbing where he knew Rabastan and Rodolphus’s names were scrawled in elegant script. His body was punishing him for not being with his soulmates, he knew it was, but at the moment he didn’t see anything he could do about it.

He flinched when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Heart racing, he turned to find Terence beside him, an ice cream in each hand.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to scare you. Here I got you a little thank you for your help today.” He said, handing over a large ice cream cone.

Harry looked at Terence in surprise. “Oh, thank you. You didn’t have to do anything though; I was happy to help.”

Terence just waved away his words and started in on his own ice cream, mint choc chip.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just got rocky road, I hope that’s ok?”

“I love rocky road” Harry said with a warm smile, and Terence grinned, happy to have guessed right.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, both enjoying their ice creams.

They stopped outside Borgin and Burkes, and Terence handed Harry another case of shrunken potions.

“Can you please take these into Mr Borgin, I will take the next case down to the Menagerie.”

And so, the morning went, dropping off potions and chatting away.

It was hard, Harry didn’t want to lie to Terence, but he also couldn’t tell him the truth. He tried a mixture of the both, trying to keep things light and not delve into all the shit that he had been through. As they talked, he got the feeling that Terence knew he wasn’t being 100% truthful but the older man didn’t say anything.

“So, on Saturday night we will meet you out the front of The Pickle at 6pm and we can apparate to the game. You haven’t been to the stadium before have you? If you like I can side-a-long apparate with you, just to make sure you don’t get lost?”

Harry who couldn’t actually apparate let out a sigh of relief at such an easy solution to a problem. Though he made a mental note to look into where he could learn to apparate outside of Hogwarts.

“That would be great, thank you Terence.”

Terence offered to shout him lunch as a thank you for all his help that morning, but Harry who was feeling worse than ever declined in favour of having a sleep before work that night.

Terence gave him a concerned look as he walked back towards his family shop, but Harry was too tired to care much about that, as he climbed the stairs to his room and fell face first onto his bed. Asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Harry stood out the front of the Leaky Pickle at 5:55 on Saturday evening, feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement coursing through him.

He was excited to be going to see a professional quidditch match, his first, aside from the quidditch world cup. He was also excited to be going out with some friends, without the worry of being Harry Potter. No expectations, no cheering or jeering from the public. Just Harry, enjoying some time with a friend. It was also very nice to have a distraction from his constantly worsening soulmate dilemma. Before he could dwell on it too much, he spotted Terence, Flint, Pucey and Warrington striding toward him.

He gave all four a hesitant smile, but Terence was the only one to return it. Flint and Warrington looked resigned and Pucey looked a little ill.

Terence greeted him with a big smile, ignoring his friend’s behaviour or simply not noticing.

“All ready to go?”

“Sure am” Harry replied, trying to stay upbeat and enthusiastic. 

The five walked to an apparition area of Knockturn Alley, Pucey, Flint and Warrington apparated away while Terence took a hold of Harry’s arm and they joined them a moment later.

Harry who had never apparated before stumbled to the side and would’ve face planted into the ground if Terence didn’t have had such a firm hold on Harry’s arms.

“All right there Harry?” he enquired kindly and Harry just nodded to afraid that he would throw up if he tried to speak.

Harry took a few deep breaths, calming his stomach and looked around. They had landed in a large apparition station outside of a big stadium. Terence quickly ushered them out of the area so they wouldn’t be accidentally squished under another person apparating in.

The stadium was large, though not as huge as the stadium had been for the quidditch world cup. It was like a stadium that you would go and watch a football match at. There were people walking everywhere. Vendors selling their wares, some food, some drinks and some merchandise of the two teams playing.

The atmosphere was intoxicating. Wherever he looked he saw people smiling, laughing, talking excitedly with friends and family. He couldn’t help but smile and let the atmosphere of the game take a hold of him. The others must’ve been similarly affected as when Harry turned to look at them, they were all smiling happily.

They started their trek into the stadium.

It turned out that Warrington was a huge United fan, so he and Terence had a friendly bet going on over the outcome of the game.

“Canons don’t stand a chance, what with Roberts out with injury. Your replacement seeker is a joke.” Terence bristled at the outrageous accusation.

“I will have you know Meed is well and truly up to the task. Our seeker might be out, but rumour has it your keeper is also injured, though he’s still going to play tonight. Do you think the injury will hamper his performance?”

Pucey just rolled his eyes at the exchange. “Ignore them Harry, they always act like this whenever United and Canons play.”

Flint walking next to him grunted in agreement.

Harry, who was no stranger to friends arguing just nodded in agreement.

They found their seats quickly enough and Harry sat with Terence on his left and Flint on his right. Pucey was next to Flint then Warrington on the other end. Apparently is was common practice to put as much space between the pair as possible during a match.

Harry sat excited as the players took to the field. He had decided to go for the Canons, simply to offer his support to his friend. But alas it was not meant to be, with United beating the Canons by 80 points.

The match had been exciting though, with the Canons leading for most of the game. Terence had screamed himself hoarse cheering on his team and Harry was afraid he had developed permanent hearing loss after sitting next to him the whole game. The seeker for United had been too good though, capturing the snitch after an edge of your seat dive that had the whole stadium gasping.

Harry had even started to develop a rapport with Flint during the match, both of them rolling their eyes at the other boy’s enthusiasm or talking excitedly after a particularly exciting bit of flying. Harry hoped that maybe Flint was warming to him and that they could possibly develop a friendship of their own over time.

They walked out of the stadium, pushing through the rush of people, Harry slowed unsure how to ask for help to apparate. He was saved the trouble when Flint offered to side-a-long apparate him back to the Leaky Pickle. Harry, too relieved to have to have a solution to his problem readily accepted.

Terence shot them a look of surprise as Flint wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist, but before he could voice any objection the pair were gone in a whirl of suffocating heat.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Rodolphus and Rabastan made their way through Malfoy Manor, they were both exhausted and beyond frustrated. Their Lord had yet to let them return to the Leaky Pickle, it was Saturday night and they usually went there for dinner on the weekend anyway, but still they weren’t allowed. No one was. Something was going on, but the brothers weren’t exactly sure what.

They arrived at the large guest parlour to find it more populated than expected.

The Dark Lord was there, along with Bella, Carmel, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco and Blaise.

The brothers looked around in confusion.

Rodolphus felt his eyes narrow in suspicion as all conversation stopped when they entered the room. They now found themselves the focus of seven sets of eyes, all watching them intently.

“What’s going on?” Rabastan asked.

No one answered. Instead Lord Voldemort gestured to two seats next to Lucius.

The brothers took their seats, eyeing the room warily.

To their surprise Lucius was the first to speak.

“We have all been concerned with your behaviour over the last week or so. You are restless, anxious, you aren’t eating or sleeping well and all you seem able to focus on is Harry, that man from the Leaky Pickle.”

Rodolphus nodded in understanding, he had been concerned as well. That’s why they had wanted to go to the Pickle, to try and talk to Harry and figure out what was going on.

Lucius continued talking, they had obviously decided he was the spokesperson for the evening.

“Some of us were concerned that you may have been affected by some kind of spell or love potion so we made the decision to bring Harry here so that he can be questioned to determine if he has done something nefarious to you pair.”

It took Rodolphus a moment to process what Lucius had said, but when he did the idea of Harry being forcefully taken anywhere sent anger coursing through his veins strong and hot.

He jumped from his seat and was not surprised to see Rabastan doing the same beside him.

“What do you mean you’re bringing him here? Against his will?” Rabastan hissed eyes flashing.

“See! This is what we mean!” Bella exclaimed. “That is not your normal reaction. We are just worried about you.”

“Then why not let us visit Harry at the Pickle, like we have asked to do multiple times this week?” Rodolphus asked, scowling at the room in general.

“We couldn’t risk that, that might’ve been Harry’s plan all along, to try to lure you back for whatever reason.”

Before Rodolphus could articulate an appropriate response, there was a flash and two bodies landed with a loud thump. The one with auburn hair stumbling before he managed to right himself.

“Harry,” Rodolphus gasped.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I am back! I had an amazing time on prac and learnt so much. I slowly worked on this chapter while I was on prac and am now ready to post, I hope you like it. I will try my best to get the next chapter out soon, but honestly my brain is pretty tired at the moment lol. Enjoy!
> 
> As always, I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry hit the ground with a loud thump, feeling completely disorientated from apparating. He decided it was definitely his least favourite way to travel, worse even then travelling by portkey. It took him a moment to right himself and another moment to realise that he was not in Knockturn Alley as he was supposed to be.

He turned accusing eyes on Flint, who actually had the audacity to look a little contrite.

“What did you do!?” Harry asked, voice shaking with anger.

“What I was asked to.” He answered simply, with that Flint apparated away without another glance at Harry.

Harry let out a weary sigh and slowly turned to face the rest of the room. He was both surprised and not surprised by what he found.

Voldemort, Malfoys, Lestranges… and was that Blaise Zabini? He took an involuntary step back even as his body and mind screamed at him to go to his soulmates. He skimmed over the fact that Voldemort no longer looked like some weird snake/man hybrid but was now a quite attractive man. Instead he focused on his soulmates. It was the first time he was seeing them in nearly a week and his body was practically forcing him to go to them. It was also the first time Harry was seeing them as themselves, they both looked furious and Harry was caught between wanting to comfort them and being afraid that they were angry at him.

He held firm though, he didn’t know where he stood with them yet, or with anyone else in the room for that matter.

He looked around to find that every occupant in the room was regarding him intently, it was enough to make him take another step back. He glanced around quickly to see if any way of escape was open to him, but he was well and truly trapped, people blocking the door, windows and fireplace.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Whatever would happen would happen, the least he could do was meet it head on. In some strange way he actually felt kind of relieved that everything had come to a head like this. He hadn’t thought of a good way to approach his soulmates and he knew that he wouldn’t have lasted much longer without them. Sure, he wouldn’t die from being away from them, but his existence would become even more miserable the longer they were apart.

After several moments of silence where Harry attempted to marshal his thoughts Lord Voldemort spoke.

“Ah, Harry, so nice of you to join us.”

“It’s not like you gave me much of a choice” Harry responded petulantly and was surprised when he heard Voldemort let out a huff of laughter.

“Be that as it may I would like you to take a seat, we have a few things that need to be discussed.”

Harry thought about the request for a moment, then deciding he had nothing to gain from declining, moved to sit in a large leather armchair as far from the Dark Lord as he could get. He chanced a glance at Rabastan and Rodolphus and found them both frozen staring at him. It looked like they hadn’t been forewarned about his impromptu arrival.

As Harry sat the brothers subconsciously mimicked him and took their seats as well. The rest of the room sitting around them.

“Now young man, you have many of us intrigued. After only one meeting it seems that you have hoodwinked two of my best men.” Here Voldemort paused as if expecting Harry to speak, instead Harry just looked at his hands, ignoring the people around him.

Voldemort seemed annoyed at the lack of response. “I wish to know if you have done something to my men, and if so to what purpose? Did you do it to try to gain something from me?”

“And who might you be?” Harry asked innocently, his brows furrowing in feigned confusion. He heard Lucius snort in amusement.

“I think you know very well who I am, as well as many people in this room judging from the recognition that flashed through your eyes when you arrived. It’s funny though, none of us seem to recognise you, probably due to that nifty glamour you’re wearing.”

Harry felt the shock flit across his face before he could suppress it. How had they known about his glamour? He supposed Voldemort was one of the most powerful wizards to ever live, he probably had his ways to detect such things.

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about,” Harry said blithely, trying to seem unconcerned about Voldemort’s statement.

Voldemort, however, just ignored him.

“Would you like to meet the two men that are so very enamoured with you?”

Without conscious thought Harry’s eyes sought out Rabastan and Rodolphus.

“Yes, that’s them” Voldemort said smugly as he tracked Harry’s movements. “It seems you already know who I’m talking about. Funny that, when you claim to have done nothing.”

“I have done nothing!” Harry exclaimed angrily.

Again, he was ignored, might as well just be invisible he thought as Bella spoke up from his left.

“He is clearly lying my Lord, leave him alone with me for a while, I will convince him to tell the truth.” The witch said eagerly.

Harry shuddered at the thought of being anywhere near Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius’ killer. Anger coursed through him again at the memory of what she had done. He pushed it down, now was not the time to be acting like some hot-headed Gryffindor.

Voldemort sent Bella a sharp look, ignoring her words and how Rabastan and Rodolphus had both made to get out of their seats and move to Harry at Bella’s words.

“There’s no need for that, now is there Harry?” Voldemort asked, his tone questioning.

He let out a sigh when Harry went back to looking at his hands, not answering.

“Remove the glamour Harry, so we may have this conversation as we truly are.”

Harry shook his head, fear coursing through him, he noticed that his hands had begun to shake.

“No, I’m sorry but I can’t.”

“Let me put it in a way that you will understand, shall I? You will remove your glamour, or I will allow Bella to remove it. And I promise you, she will not be gentle.”

Rabastan made a noise of protest at his Lords words, but quickly quietened down with a gesture from the Dark Lord.

“The choice is yours Harry” the soft voice seemed to make the statement even more menacing.

Harry thought for a moment, he knew he wasn’t getting out of here without revealing who he was, he would also prefer not to have Bellatrix anywhere near him if at all possible. But still he hesitated. It was this hesitation that cost him. It seemed that Voldemort hadn’t been giving him a choice after all. While they had been talking Draco had slowly leaned closer from his place beside Harry, when Harry looked down, deep in thought Draco leapt forward and ripped the necklace from his throat, dragging him roughly from his seat in the process.

He let out a cry of surprise and pain as he hit the floor, then panic started to sink in. His necklace was gone! He jumped to his feet, his eyes darting around the room looking for escape as the glamour slowly began to fade. Everyone in the room stood transfixed as auburn hair receded to be replaced by messy black, blue eyes faded to startling green and Harry seemed to shrink...shrink…shrink into himself until he reached his natural height and weight.

Gasps of surprise echoed around the room as Harry hung his head in defeat.

Before he could say anything or even try to explain a voice screamed ‘ _crucio!’_ and Harry was thrown on his back, screaming himself hoarse as pain ripped through his body. The pain stopped but Harry lay still gasping and shivering, his body aching. He heard yelling but his brain didn’t seem capable of processing the words at the moment.

His eyes flew open when he felt strong arms reach down and scoop him up into a firm chest. Other hands brushed against his cheeks, wiping away tears he hadn’t even realised he had shed. Rabastan and Rodolphus. His soulmates. He was being cradled in Rabastan’s arms while Rodolphus wiped the tears off his face. His body seemed to relax instantly at his soulmates touch, and he leaned into Rodolphus’s large hand as it cupped his cheek.

“Enough Bella!” Voldemort hissed and Harry was surprised that he cared enough to reprimand her.

“It’s Harry Potter my Lord!” she yelled.

“Yes, I can clearly see that” Voldemort answered snarkily.

Here Lucius spoke up, clearly just as enraged as Bella. “He has obviously bewitched Rabastan and Rodolphus on Dumbledores orders! What did you think would happen Harry, slip them a love potion and they would spill all our secrets to you!? You are pathetic, you sorry excuse for a wizard!”

Harry flinched away from Lucius’ cruel words. His head spinning from pain and exhaustion.

“ENOUGH!” Rabastan yelled, as Rodolphus started stalking toward Lucius. “How would you even know what the plan is, you haven’t given Harry a chance to speak yet!”

Voldemort held up his hand fall stalling anymore complaints Bella or Lucius were about to make and stopping Rodolphus in his tracks.

“Now, let’s all take a seat and discuss this like the adults some of us are.” Voldemort said eyeing Lucius and Bella in particular as they took their seats.

Rabastan and Rodolphus moved to a two-seater lounge and sat down, placing Harry securely in between them, one arm wrapped around his shoulders another around his waist. Rather than feeling trapped Harry just felt safe and burrowed in deeper between the pair.

Harry ignored the venomous looks that were being cast at him from several people, it wasn’t like he hadn’t been on the end of glares before. Unfortunately, it was something he was all too familiar with.

“Now Harry, I feel that there is an interesting story behind why you’re here. Why don’t you enlighten us please?” Despite Voldemort’s calm tone Harry knew that his was not a request.

He looked up at Voldemort, green eyes meeting deep brown with just a hint of their former red.

He sighed wearily, running his hand through his messy hair.

Seeing as how Harry was still hesitant to start, Voldemort decided to start with a question.

“Is there a reason you are looking particularly worse for wear?”

Harry frowned in confusion and looked down at himself, he looked much the same as he always did. His clothes were obviously hanging off him but that was hardly his fault.

“This is how I always look; the clothes were obviously made for the glamour so of course they’re too big for me” Harry said defensively, pulling the too big shirt back onto his bony shoulder.

Voldemort looked surprised at the words, “Draco?” he enquired.

“Yes, that is usually how he looks, the clothes although far too big are actually much better quality then what he typically gets around in,” Draco answered.

Voldemort furrowed his eyebrows, eyes trailing over Harry.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning Harry and tell us how you ended up here.” This came from Narcissa, and the words were almost kind.

“Fine” Harry said with a sigh. “I… I just had enough of it all, then something happened on my birthday and I knew that it would never be accepted, so I decided to leave.”

Harry knew he was being very brief and hadn’t really explained anything at all.

“I think we will need a few more details then that” Narcissa said kindly. “What exactly happened on your birthday?”

Harry swallowed thickly, trying to find the courage to explain. This was it, the moment his soulmates found out, the fear of rejection was strong, but Harry took comfort from their warm presence at his side.

He pulled his sleeves back revealing both his wrists.

“This happened” he said shortly.

The whole room stilled; Harry looked around. Everyone was staring at his wrists in shock, even Voldemort had frozen. Draco’s mouth was hanging open and Harry knew he would’ve found the sight amusing if the situation wasn’t so dire.

Harry risked a glance at Rabastan and Rodolphus and found that they too were staring at his wrists, a look of wonder on their faces.

Blaise was the first to come to his senses. “Soul marks, you have not one but two soul marks?” he asked weakly.

“I can’t believe this,” Narcissa gasped in shock. “It is unheard of to have two soul marks, one is rare enough, but two!”

Everyone else looked just as gobsmacked by this turn of events.

“This explains so much,” Voldemort said with a very uncharacteristic groan.

Harry felt movement beside him and looked to see that both Rabastan and Rodolphus had awoken from their shock and were looking at Harry in awe.

“May we?” they asked reaching out for their own names written on his wrists. Harry simply nodded mutely.

Rabastan held his hand reverently, while Rodolphus clutched his arm as they both reached out and ran their fingers over the swirling black letters.

Harry felt like his brain short circuited at the touch, it was like there was a line straight to his groin and his brain from each mark. He felt his whole-body tense and then relax, well almost his whole body, one part of his anatomy decided that now was the time to grow impossibly hard. Arousal coursed through him leaving his face flushed and his eyes darkened with lust.

A throat cleared and Narcissa spoke. “Perhaps you should leave touching the marks to when you are alone, in private,” she said with a pointed look at Harry.

Rabastan and Rodolphus who had been so caught up in examining their own marks upon Harry’s flesh hadn’t noticed the state that he was now in.

They both let out throaty groans at the sight of Harry between them, flushed and panting with arousal. Harry was just thankful that his pants were so large that it was difficult to see how hard he was.

Harry blushed brightly under their gazes, embarrassed by his body’s strong reaction.

Rabastan scooped him up and placed Harry in his lap, while Rodolphus placed Harry’s legs in his own lap.

“Don’t be embarrassed little one,” Rodolphus whispered as he rubbed soothing circles into Harry’s ankle. “That’s a perfectly natural reaction to your soulmates touching your soul marks.”

“No one’s ever touched them before” Harry whispered. “I… I wasn’t expecting it to be so intense.”

Rabastan and Rodolphus looked smug about that.

“It wouldn’t be so intense if anyone else touched them, that reaction will only happen with your soulmates, and probably not quite as potent as this first time” Voldemort explained.

“Ah” Harry nodded in understanding. Then decided now that the cat was out of the bag, he should tell the story properly.

“So, yeah” Harry started articulately. “I was sitting up watching the clock strike midnight on my 16th birthday when these appeared” he explained, waving his wrists around. “I knew a little about what they were thanks to Hermione. But I knew the light side would never let me be with my soulmates. They would try to make me forget about you,” Harry explained looking first at Rodolphus then Rabastan. He felt Rabastan tighten his hold on him at the words.

“And honestly I have had just about enough of the light side by this point anyway. I am constantly put in danger every year, are you telling me that Dumbledore has no idea that these things are happening? Seriously the whole mess at the Ministry this summer could have been avoided if Dumbledore had just been honest with me, but no, of course he wasn’t! Don’t even get me started on the wizarding world, they turn on me at the drop of a hat, one-minute vilifying me, the next expecting me to be their golden boy and save them from all the horrors in the world. I’m only bloody 16 for Merlin’s sake! Then every summer they send me back to my relative’s house, without a care, even though I have told them all many times I do not want to go back there. No one cares. No one does anything to help. I’m just so very tired of it all. So, when the soul marks appeared, I thought this might be my chance to be with people who might care about me, even if it is just because of the soul marks.”

He had started off ranting and raving, but by the end of the speech his voice had become more subdued and despondent.

No one seemed to quite know how to respond to that speech. Voldemort looked thoughtful, while a few of the others looked concerned.

“You are ours now Harry” Rodolphus whispered, and even though the words were possessive they were also said with kindness and Harry found himself warming as he burrowed deeper into Rabastan’s chest.

Harry cleared his throat and continued.

“I packed a few things, jumped out of my bedroom window and snuck away. I travelled to London by train, and well here I am” he finished lamely.

Harry looked around the room again to find that the murderous looks were gone, and most people were looking at him calmly if a little suspiciously.

Voldemort was lost in thought.

“Mr Potter,” a woman Harry didn’t recognise, though judging from the remarkable likeness to Blaise Harry thought it must be his mother, started speaking. “Do you understand just how special soul marks are? They are extremely rare and revered, especially amongst old wizarding families. Nothing is more important to a person then their soul mate and you have just gained two. In all my years I have never met someone with a soul mark, and I have never heard of anyone having two. It should be impossible, yet here you sit.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “well isn’t that just the story of my life.”

Mrs Zabini looked intrigued at his words but didn’t question him further.

“I… ah, actually didn’t know how special soul marks were though, so thank you for telling me. And umm you can call me Harry if you like.” He finished shyly.

She smiled. “Thank you, Harry, you may call me Carmel then. And yes, they are very special. I imagine that you would have many people who would wish to speak to you if it was discovered that you have a soul mark, even more so that you have two.”

Harry looked downright terrified at the idea of even more attention being heaped on him.

“I feel it might be best if you retire to a guest room for the evening, you look exhausted Harry.” Voldemort said, eyeing the dark circles under his eyes.

Harry felt both Rabastan and Rodolphus hold him tighter at the words.

“Your soulmates can of course join you if they wish, I just need to have a few words with them first. Draco and Blaise will escort you **safely** to your room.”

Harry nodded in understanding, but lingered as he stood, he didn’t want to leave Rabastan and Rodolphus, the brothers looked like they were fairing no better letting Harry leave.

“Come along Harry” Draco said gripping his arm tightly and pulling him toward the door. “They will be along in a minute.”

“Oh, and Harry” Voldemort called out. “Your room will be locked, and you will have a guard with you at all times until I am sure that I can trust you.”

Harry didn’t respond, he had expected nothing less.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Rabastan and Rodolphus watched their little soulmate until he had left the room with Draco and Blaise, both fighting the urge to trail after him.

Something of their feelings must have shown on their faces for Carmel started chuckling, “you pair look like all light has left your lives. He has just gone to a guest room; you will be back with him shortly.”

“Logically I know that, but all I can think of is being with him, of all the things that could happen while he is away from us, it’s very disconcerting.” Rodolphus explained.

“Obviously in light of these recent developments, both Harry leaving the light side as well as being the soulmate of two of my most loyal supporters, I will not be continuing my campaign to destroy him.” The Dark Lord explained sardonically. “I had already been contemplating this course of action since my sanity had been returned to me. I have spent too long focused on Harry Potter and not working towards our goals. I won’t lie though, that Harry leaving the light side and possibly joining us would be a huge gain. He is an extremely powerful wizard with a lot of influence.”

“There is more going on here than meets the eye” Narcissa spoke up.

“I agree” The Dark Lord said, resting his chin in his hand. “What do you make of it Narcissa?”

“Well, just look at him my Lord. He’s supposed to be the same age as Draco and Blaise, but he looks years younger. He is painfully thin and when he pulled his sleeves up to show his soul marks, I saw other marks and scars on his arms,” Narcissa said, concern clear in her tone.

Rabastan and Rodolphus tensed at what Narcissa was insinuating.

“There is also his talk of the dangers he has faced, and his thoughts that Dumbledore has been setting him up” Lucius put in. “There has of course been rumours of his exploits over the years, but I would say only Potter and Dumbledore know the full truth behind the rumours.” He finished, causing the group to once again lap into silence. “We will need to speak with him, to determine exactly what has happened to him over the years.” The Dark Lord said decisively. “I will also contact a healer to come and check him over sometime in the next few days. Rabastan, Rodolphus, I know that this will be no hardship on you, but you are to stay with him at all times. Ensure he is safe but that he is also not passing on any information to Dumbledore or anyone else while he is here. Bella we will also need to talk to him urgently about your role in Sirius’ death if there is any hope of salvaging any kind of relationship between you.”

The brothers and Bella nodded seriously. Rabastan and Rodolphus made to stand and go to their soulmate.

“Also, congratulations,” Voldemort said sincerely taking the brothers by surprise. “Soulmates are a gift from mother magic and are truly a cause for celebration, you are both very lucky.”

The brothers nodded their thanks and hurriedly left the room, eager to get back to Harry.

“Well I was not expecting that” Bella said quietly, “when we brought Harry here.”

“I don’t think any of us were” Lucius said seriously. “Soulmates with Harry Potter, honestly what are the chances?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is here, this is just a fluffy chapter, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry walked down the long halls of Malfoy Manor, Malfoy to his left and Zabini to his right. Neither teen tried to speak to him and for that he was grateful, he didn’t think he had the energy to try to answer any questions.

Harry barely noticed the Manor as he walked, too caught up in his own thoughts, his need to try to keep up his clothes that were threatening to fall off him. They walked until they stopped in front of an ornate wooden door.

“This will be your room Potter” Draco said with a slight sneer, though Harry could tell his heart wasn’t in it. “Uncle Rabastan and Uncle Rodolphus both have rooms in this hall, I figured you would want to be near them.”

Harry felt touched at the thoughtfulness of the gesture.

“Thank you, Malfoy, I…I would like to be close to them,” Harry said with a hesitant smile at the blonde.

Malfoy looked taken aback for a moment, simply staring at Harry until Zabini elbowed him.

“I would not recommend going anywhere on your own at the moment,” Zabini said and Harry nodded in understanding before the two turned and walked back the way they’d come.

Harry opened the door and walked into the room he had been appointed. He was not surprised to find it luxurious beyond measure. Certainly, beyond anything Harry had experienced.

The room was large, bigger than his whole dorm room had been at Hogwarts. The walls were unsurprisingly a soft green and there was a massive bed in the centre that looked big enough to sleep five without any problems. The floors were marble tiles but there was a beautifully thick cream rug that took up most of the floor. Opposite the bed was a fireplace and several comfortable looking lounges. A large wardrobe stood against the wall and for a moment Harry mourned the loss of his clothes, though he supposed now that he wasn’t wearing the glamour most of those clothes wouldn’t fit him, still it couldn’t hurt to ask someone if he could be allowed to retrieve them. His heart stopped for a moment as he remembered Herbert. In all the confusion he had forgotten about Herbert! He would definitely have to go back to The Leaky Pickle tomorrow, even if it is just to grab his plant. He hopped Herbert wouldn’t be too worried when he didn’t come home tonight. He continued looked around the room and spotted another door, which Harry assumed led to a bathroom.

He would love to have a nice hot shower to help him relax but he didn’t have any clean clothes to change into. Now that the adrenalin was fading from his body, weariness was setting in. He made his way to the comfortable looking bed and sat heavily. He was tempted to just crawl under the covers and forget this whole day for a few hours, but he assumed Rabastan and Rodolphus would come to see him and he wanted to be awake for their visit.

He didn’t stop himself from falling back, enjoying the soft blankets beneath him. He felt his eyes growing heavy and before he even realised it, he had fallen into a deep sleep, still fully clothed, laying on the side of the bed. It was in this precarious position that his soulmates found him a short while later.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Rabastan and Rodolphus had hurried down the hall after leaving their Lords presence, running into Draco and Blaise and getting directions on which room they had put Harry in.

They had knocked, both nervous and impatient to see Harry again. After knocking a few more times and hearing nothing they had simply opened the door and entered, concerned something may have happened to Harry. They were not prepared for the sight that greeted them.

Their little soulmate was sprawled out awkwardly on the bed, his clothes rumpled and a string of drool running down his chin.

Rabastan could feel his heart clench just at the sight of him.

“Merlin” Rodolphus whispered eyeing the small teen. “Who would’ve thought we would be so lucky as to have a soulmate.”

“You aren’t angry that we have to share? Or that it turns out that our soulmate is none other than Harry Potter?” Rabastan whispered back.

Rodolphus shook his head, not taking his eyes off the sleeping teen in front of him.

“Honestly, no. I mean, Merlin look at him, he obviously needs two soulmates just to protect and take care of him. He is clearly a walking magnet for trouble and there is no one else I would trust him with except you Rab. I know together we will be everything he wants and needs.”

Rabastan looked thoughtful for a moment, “that actually makes a lot of sense. It’s a weird feeling though, after so many years of, well, not quite hate, but anger aimed at Harry Potter, it now feels like everything else pales in comparison to him.”

“Indeed, but Mother Magic would not have blessed us with a soulmate if it wasn’t the right thing for everyone involved. Harry is meant to be ours, just as we are meant to be his.”

“It won’t be easy” Rabastan said with a sigh.

Rodolphus just sent him a cheeky grin, “nothing worth having comes easy. Now let’s get our little one more comfortable.” With a wave of his wand Harry’s too big clothes were transfigured into soft pyjamas and he was levitated into a more comfortable position on the bed and tucked in properly.

“I don’t think I can leave him, but I don’t feel comfortable sleeping in his bed without his permission either.”

“How about we transfigure the chairs into comfortable beds for us for tonight, we can talk with Harry in the morning about expectations and boundaries,” Rabastan suggested sensibly.

With Rodolphus’ nod two chairs were transfigured, and clothes were changed into pyjamas. They each took a turn in the bathroom before they climbed into bed, still even after the events of the day both found sleep difficult that night.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

When Rodolphus awoke the next morning, it took him a moment to remember why he wasn’t in his own bed. It had taken him a long time to fall asleep last night, his mind struggling to accept all that had happened. He had a soulmate and it was Harry Potter. Harry Potter was his soul mate. And not just his soulmate either, his and Rabastan’s. Soulmates were exceedingly rare and especially cherished amongst pureblood families, such a union is said to be blessed by magic and Rodolphus wondered how he had managed to get so lucky.

He made to roll over when he felt a warm weight pressed against his side. He slowly looked down to see a head of unruly black hair and a pale face pressed against his shoulder. His breath caught in his throat, Harry, Harry was in bed with him! He quickly looked around to make sure that he hadn’t somehow snuck into Harry’s bed in the night, but no, he was still in his transfigured bed, except, now he had his tiny soulmate pressed up against him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had held someone in his arms. Azkaban had left him touch starved, craving human contact and waking to find his soulmate in his arms was indescribable. No wonder he felt so well rested. He took a moment to study the teen, wild hair that looked incredibly soft, pale skin with just a smattering of freckles, full lips a soft dusty pink colour. His soul mate was gorgeous. Though he felt so small and fragile in his arms. He gently traced the dark circles under Harry’s eyes, making a promise that he would ensure the teen got more sleep. The poor thing looked like he hadn’t slept well in years. He wrapped an arm around the thin waist and pulled Harry in closer to him, turning gently so he was on his side and Harry was pressed against his chest. Harry felt like skin and bones in his arms and Rodolphus felt white hot rage rush through him at the thought of what Harry must have been through. He would make them suffer, whoever had dared to hurt what was his and Rabastan’s. Lestrange’s were notoriously possessive bastards over what was theirs, and nothing had ever been more theirs then the young man in his arms.

Rodolphus looked over at his brother and found Rabastan awake and watching them, his face lit in awe and maybe a touch of confusion.

Rabastan slowly crept out of bed and made his way over to his brother, his brother who had Harry wrapped up in his arms.

“What is he doing in bed with you?” Rabastan whispered curiously and Rodolphus was relieved to note that there was no jealousy in his voice.

“No idea brother, he was just here when I woke up.”

Rodolphus froze as Harry began to stir in his arms. Delicate hands came up to rub his face and then startling green eyes slowly blinked open.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

Harry slowly came awake from one of the best sleeps he could ever remember having. He felt warm and safe and a part of him rebelled at the idea of waking up.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and slowly opened them to find himself face to face with a large muscular chest. He blinked in bemusement, why was he pressed against a chest? He gradually looked up until he made eye contact with dark brown eyes, not quite as dark as Snape’s but the closest to it Harry had ever seen. He blinked once more and the chest he was pressed against rumbled with laughter. That seemed to be the jolt he needed to bring him back in to full awareness.

Rodolphus. He was in bed pressed up against Rodolphus.

Harry let out a squeak and, in his rush, to get away fell out of bed and landed heavily on the floor with a soft groan.

Rodolphus and Rabastan were at his side in a moment.

“Harry, are you alright?” Rabastan asked urgently, hands running down Harry’s sides checking for injury. Harry just nodded; face still buried in the rug as he died of embarrassment.

Firm hands lifted him up and Harry’s eyes flew open in surprise as he was carried over to his bed and placed gently on the covers.

“Are you OK little one?” Rodolphus asked lightly.

Harry took a deep breath and looked up to meet the concerned gaze.

“I’m fine, just a bruised ego” he said with a self-deprecating laugh. “It took me by surprise that’s all, waking up in bed with you I mean.”

“I’m not actually sure how that happened” Rodolphus explained.

“I’m pretty sure it was me” Harry said slowly. “I woke up during the night and couldn’t sleep, I think my body knew you were both close by, so I just wandered over to you and climbed into bed. Ah… sorry about that by the way,” Harry said flushing red again.

Here Rabastan and Rodolphus shared a smirk.

“Oh, you are welcome to join us in bed anytime you want little one, you never have to apologise for that.” Rabastan said and Harry choked on a laugh at the implications.

“Noted.”

Harry hesitated before speaking again.

“So… Yesterday must’ve come as quite a shock to you” the green-eyed boy began. “I know I’m probably not what you expected or even want in a soulmate, but I’m willing to give this a try if you are?”

Rabastan frowned at the words as well as the nervousness that laced them.

He moved to sit down beside Harry, he wanted to draw the younger into his arms but wasn’t sure if they were quite ready for that.

“Harry,” Rabastan started, but stopped when Harry refused to look at him. He gently reached out and gripped his chin turning it, so the pair were facing each other. “You may not have been what we expected but you are definitely what we want. Honestly I don’t think either of us were expecting a soulmate but now that we have you we are never going to let you go, you are a gift from mother magic herself, and we intend to treat you that way.” Green eyes gazed into brown and Rabastan was left gaping at the hope and longing that was shining through.

Rodolphus moved to sit on the other side of Harry, he had less hesitation about reaching out for Harry, perhaps because they had just woken up in each other’s arms and pulled the teen into a gentle embrace. Harry froze at the movement at first but quickly relaxed into the hug. The large lonely hole inside of him slowly filling as he lay with is soul mates. He sighed in contentedness; nothing had ever felt so right.

“We may not know you very well at the moment Harry, but I know that once we do, we will love you with all our hearts. Not just because of the soul bond but because of who you are as a person.”

Harry’s breath hitched at the words, to be truly wanted and loved was what he longed for most in the world. He supposed that’s what happens what you grow up in a home where you are constantly told and shown that you are unwanted and unloved. The thought of finding that happiness leaves him feeling giddy. He tries to rein in his happiness. It’s still early days yet and he knows that it will take time for all of them to develop genuine feelings, that’s if it ever happens, but it warmed him to know that Rabastan and Rodolphus were open to the idea of having a real relationship between them. He wasn’t naïve to think that things would be easy, there was still Voldemort, Bellatrix, Dumbledore, his friends, as well as this bloody war to deal with, but for the moment he was going to enjoy what happiness he could get.

Rodolphus leaned close and pressed a gentle kiss to Harry’s temple. The dark-haired teen flushed brilliantly and Rodolphus practically cooed at the adorable image in front of him. Harry smiled up at him shyly before turning to glance at Rabastan and beckon him closer.

Rabastan looked like all his Christmas’s had come at once and slowly climbed on the bed, situating himself on Harry’s other side. He gently took Harrys hand in his own, running his thumb soothingly over the back of the teens hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 is here! I hope you all enjoy it 😊 Thank you so much for all the comments and reviews, I love reading them all. Also, if there is anything you really want to see in the story please let me know, I have the general plot laid out, but I could see what I can work in. Though please don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t happen 😊
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter

They laid on the bed, not talking, simply enjoying each other’s company.

“Rodolphus and I know that we all have a lot to talk about and to learn about each other, but we thought it may be wise to discuss expectations and what we are all comfortable with, just so there is no misunderstandings.”

Harry felt a warmth run through his body at Rabastan’s words, his soulmates valued his opinion, they wanted him to feel comfortable with them. He was surprised by how considerate his mates were. Harry hadn’t been sure what to expect of his soulmates when he had run from the Dursleys, but he was already pleasantly surprised.

He realised that both Rabastan and Rodolphus were waiting for him, so he quickly gathered his thoughts to respond.

“I guess, starting off, I would like there to be nothing but honesty between us,” Harry said softly. “I have been lied to and had things kept from me so many times in my life and I… I just can’t take any more. Even if you don’t think I will like it, I still want the truth, always.”

Rabastan and Rodolphus shared a look before nodding seriously.

“In turn, I will always try my best to be honest with you both as well.”

“That is a good place to start” Rabastan said. “We can not hope to build a strong relationship if we do not trust one another.”

“It would also be nice to spend time together, get to know each other. I’m not ready to talk about a lot of things yet, but I would like to get to know you” Harry said shyly, looking up at his soulmates from underneath his lashes.

Rodolphus felt his breath catch and he wondered if Harry had any idea just how gorgeous he looked in that moment.

“One or both of us will be by your side at all times from now on. So, there will be plenty of time to get to know each other. Though, I wish to make it clear that you are not under any circumstances to go anywhere without either myself of Rabastan. Do you understand Harry?” Rodolphus said, pulling Harry’s face around so that Harry knew how serious this was.

Harry frowned a little but nodded in acquiesce, he had thought this would be the case and honestly, he was thrilled that his soulmates would be spending so much time with him.

Harry thought about what else there was to talk about.

“How do you feel about physical touch?” Rabastan asked, taking Harry’s had in his own and gently kissing his palm, causing the young Gryffindor to blush and Rabastan’s pants to tighten painfully.

“I… I’m not usually very good with touch, but I quite like the little touches that you have been giving me. Maybe we could start there and build to more? I’m… I’m not ready for anything sexual” Harry stuttered out, reddening even more. “But if you wanted to it would be nice if we could sleep in the same bed together. I’ve been sleeping terribly lately, and I know being with you both would help.”

He pulled his hands away from the brothers and began fiddling with the hem of his pyjama shirt.

“That sounds wonderful Harry” Rabastan said and Harry let out a sigh of relief, looking up at matching brown eyes.

“Believe it or not, we haven’t been sleeping well either” Rabastan said with a little quirk of his lips. “A good night’s sleep would be most welcome.”

Harry grinned a little at that. “Ah, sorry about that. The bond was most insistent we be together, but I wasn’t sure how to go about making that happen.”

“While we certainly didn’t know about or condone your kidnapping, I can’t deny I’m happy it brought you to us.”

The reminder of his kidnapping seemed to trigger Harry’s memory.

“Oh! Would it be OK if I go back to the Leaky Pickle today to get my things? I left pretty much everything I own there, not to mention my plant Herbert, he will be so worried that I didn’t come home last night” Harry fretted.

Rabastan and Rodolphus shared an amused look, “your plant will be worried you didn’t come home?” Rodolphus asked sceptically.

“Of course, he will!” Harry responded, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The brothers decided not to say anything, not wanting to upset the tenuous relationship they were starting to build.

“Our Lord wishes for you to remain here for the moment, but we will arrange to have your things picked up and brought to the Manor.”

“I guess you should also tell them that I resign” Harry said. He felt a little sad to let his job go but knew that it just wasn’t feasible at the moment. Besides, the idea of being away from his soulmates for any length of time made him feel physically ill. He knew the feeling would somewhat settle with time, but that time was definitely not now.

“We can organise that for you today,” Rabastan said kindly and Harry nodded to him in thanks.

Despite having the best night sleep, he had had in a long time, Harry still felt tired.

“Do you mind if I have a nap?” Harry asked. “I know we just woke up a little while ago, but I wasn’t kidding about the lack of sleep.” Even though Harry had asked it as a question he was already settling back down into bed before either brother could answer.

“Of course, not _mon ame,”_ Rodolphus answered, though he didn’t like the idea of Harry missing any meals, the boy was so skinny! But he remembered the dark circles under the teens eyes and knew he wasn’t lying about needing rest.

“Do you mind if we join you?” Rabastan asked as Harry snuggled down under the blankets, his eyes growing heavy.

“That’d be nice” the green-eyed teen answered quietly, already drifting off as Rabastan and Rodolphus made themselves comfortable in the bed as well.

Harry sighed contentedly; his magic was thrumming happily at having his soulmates close by. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so warm and safe and considering that he was staying in his supposed enemies’ home that sure was saying a lot. He rolled on his side and tentatively leaned his face into Rabastan’s shoulder, feeling Rodolphus lay against his back, not touching but close enough that Harry could feel the warmth radiating from his body. With a sigh he closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

When he awoke again, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed. It took him a moment to realise what had woken him, someone was knocking most insistently at the door. Rabastan and Rodolphus were already up and moving towards the door while Harry was still busy trying to untangle himself from the sheets.

Rodolphus pulled the door open to find Draco standing beyond.

“Our Lord wishes for you all to join us for lunch, seeing as how you were not at breakfast.”

“Tell him we will be down momentarily” Rodolphus responded, already closing the door in the younger Malfoy’s face.

Rabastan eyed Harry in amusement, clearly trying to fight back a smile as the green-eyed teen finally untangled himself and stumbled out of the bed. His clothes and hair adorably rumpled.

With a wave of his wand Rabastan transformed Harry’s Pyjamas back into clothes, another wave had them shrinking to a much more appropriate fit.

“Time for lunch. Why don’t you go freshen up while we change and then we will pick you up on the way to the dining room?”

“Sure thing” Harry said, already heading into the bathroom to wash his face and clean his teeth.

The brothers were back only a few minutes later and Harry had to supress a chuckle at how fast they had gotten ready.

As they walked through Malfoy Manor towards the dining room Harry looked around. Taking note of things, he hadn’t in his anxious haze the night before. The place was stunning. No wonder Malfoy walked around like everything was beneath him if this is how he grew up.

They walked into the dining room and Harry froze as he realised that everyone who had been in the room the night before was currently seated around a large table, waiting for them to arrive. He could’ve kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner, but of course they would all be here. He got the impression that they all lived here, like one big family, which was actually kinda sweet, as long as he ignored who the actual people were.

He felt a large warm hand rest firmly at the base of his spine and guide him into the room, to a seat two down from Lucius Malfoy. Rabastan sat to his right and Rodolphus to his left. He gulped as everyone at the table eyed him carefully, thankful that no one had shot an unforgiveable at him this time.

“Now that we are all here,” Voldemort began with a slight quirk of his lips, “let’s eat.”

As soon as the words were spoken platters of food appeared along the table, much like they did at Hogwarts.

Harry eyed the food warily, before selecting half a salad sandwich off a platter and settling back down to eat.

He nibbled thoughtfully on his sandwich, missing the concerned looks he was receiving.

“This is really delicious” Harry said to no one in particular. “What kind of sauce is on it?” he asked in interest pulling open the sandwich and trying to have a look.

Everyone stared at him in surprise for a moment before Narcissa answered with a smile.

“Why thank you Harry, our house elves are very excellent cooks, they have surpassed themselves yet again.”

Harry looked up and smiled at the warm tone in the others voice.

“As for the sauce, I’m actually not sure but I can check for you. Dae” she called softly. A few seconds later there was a pop and a house elf appeared beside Narcissa.

“Young Harry over there was just enquiring about the sauce that is on his salad sandwich.”

The house elf nodded in understanding.

“It is similar to a honey mustard dressing, sir. However, we mix a little balsamic vinegar in which brings out the extra flavours.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “Well, it is simply delicious, perhaps you can show me how to make it sometime? I quite enjoy cooking and you’re obviously very talented.”

The house elf named Dae, just stared at Harry, mouth gaping for a long moment and Harry glanced around and began to feel awkward. Eventually the elf turned to look at Narcissa uncertainly.

“Of course, Harry, we can arrange for that” Narcissa said amicably and Harry grinned in delight.

The whole table froze at the sight, entranced at the way Harry’s face lit up and his eyes glowed as the teen smiled.

There was a bang on the table that caused Harry and half the table to jump. Rodolphus glared around the table until everyone returned their eyes to their meals. Voldemort rolled his eyes at the display; Harry was going to have his work cut out for him with the Lestrange brothers.

Rabastan was rubbing Harry’s back in comfort after the small scare and Rodolphus realising that he had scared Harry reached out and ran a hand through Harry’s hair. Smiling slightly as the teen leaned into the touch.

“Do you like cooking _mon ame_?”

Harry nodded thoughtfully, taking another small bite of his sandwich. “Not so much when I was younger, but I enjoy it now. I find it relaxing.”

“Feel free to cook with the house elves any time, Harry” Narcissa said kindly, ignoring the frown from her husband.

“Thank you, Lady Malfoy” Harry said shyly.

Narcissa had to stop herself from cooing at the adorable sight.

“It is no problem my dear, and please call me Narcissa.”

Next to her Draco’s mouth fell open in shock. His mother hardly ever warmed to strangers, but it seemed that she had taken a liking to Harry. Of course, she has, Draco thought exasperatedly, doesn’t everyone.

Harry finished his sandwich and washed it down with a sip of pumpkin juice.

Rabastan frowned beside him, “surely you are still hungry _mon ame_?”

“Oh no, I’m quite full, thank you.”

Rabastan’s eyes flicked to his brother then around the table, he knew everyone was thinking the same thing.

“Please, try to eat a little more, for me.” Rabastan wheedled, piling more food on Harrys plate.

The younger sighed but picked up a small quiche and started to eat. Rabastan sent him a large smile and Harry realised, with some trepidation, that he would do practically anything to see that happy smile on his soulmates face as often as possible.

Lunch continued with small inconsequential talk breaking out around the table. Harry watched everyone interact, taking in the open conversations and affections that were evident around the table. He purposefully kept his gaze away from Bellatrix, who was sitting down the table from him, the sight of her still cause rage to explode in him, so much so that he struggled to contain his magic. So, for the moment he ignored the witch entirely. He made eye contact with Draco and went to say something, but the blonde quickly glanced away.

It was just as Harry was finishing his quiche that he heard a loud voice start shouting from the other room.

“JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING BOY!?”

Harry squeaked and jumped in fright, knocking his half full plate of food all over himself as he threw himself back from the table. His chair tipped over and he tripped over the upturned legs in his rush to put some distance between himself and the shouting voice. He landed hard, knocking his elbow and cheek on the tiled floor, his heart racing as he pushed himself up and tried to get away.

Large arms encircled his waist before he could take a few hurried steps. Harry squirmed as he tried to get away, but the grip held him tight. Rodolphus walked in front of him, gently gripping his face, forcing him to focus. Harry realised that if Rodolphus was in front of him then Rabastan must be the one holding him.

“Deep breath Harry.”

But Harry was too panicked to listen, his arms and legs flailing.

Rodolphus growled a little. “Focus on my breathing Harry, that’s it, breathe with me.”

Harry let the feel of Rabastan’s arms around him and Rodolphus’ hands on his face ground him as he took a few deep breaths and felt himself calming.

Just as the door to the kitchen burst open and Harry jumped again.

The man who walked in froze in surprise at the sight that greeted him.

Rabastan glared furiously at the latest addition, while Rodolphus continued to calm Harry down. When Harry was able to breathe normally and was no longer shaking in fright Rabastan scooped him up into his arms and returned to the table, placing the smaller male squarely in his lap. Harry pinked a little at the action but didn’t even attempt to move.

Harry glanced up and saw everyone staring at him, some looked concerned, others simply intrigued. He turned his face into Rabastan’ chest, embarrassed of the spectacle he had just made of himself.

Rabastan rubbed his back soothingly, as he waved his wand and made all the spilled food vanish off his clothes.

Voldemort turned from looking at Harry to eye the newcomer.

“Greyback, I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“We finished our task sooner then expected and wanted to report,” Greyback said gruffly.

“We?” Voldemort said with a raised brow, looking around at the empty space behind the other man.

“I left Penn in the kitchens. He may have eaten a few cookies. I have reprimanded him, but just so you know.” Here Greyback turned to look at Lucius who just gave him a nod in understanding.

“Very well, where is everything you were asked to retrieve?” Voldemort asked.

With that Greyback reached into his pocket and pulled out a few things. With a wave of his wand he unshrunk Harrys bag and… “Herbert!” Harry shouted and jumped up from the table, startling Rabastan as he raced over to pick up his plant.

“Oh, Herbert, I was so worried about you” Harry gushed as he walked back around to his seat. Plonking himself back on Rabastan’s lap without a second thought.

“Ah, is that a plant?” Draco asked uncertainly, eyeing Harry as if he were crazy.

“It sure is” Harry said happily, running his fingers through the soft vines.

“Then why are you talking to it?” Voldemort asked in bemusement.

“Oh, Herbert is very smart” Harry explained. “He would have been worried about me when I didn’t come home last night.”

A round of laughter broke out around the table and Harry frowned.

“Plants don’t have feelings,” Bellatrix said in a condescending tone that made Harry’s blood boil. He swung green eyes around to glare at the woman who was technically his soulmates wife, though they hadn’t really spoken about that yet.

“Well, Herbert does” Harry said angrily.

Rodolphus reached out to try to soothe Harry but he shrugged the hand off, he wasn’t in the mood to be soothed. His magic thrummed angrily under his skin and Harry had to fight to keep it under control.

While Harry had been glaring at the witch, he had failed to notice that Herbert’s vines had made their way along the table, creeping closer until they flung out, wrapping themselves around Bellatrix’s neck and squeezing tightly.

Bellatrix gasped in surprise as the vines tightened around her throat and reached up to try to dislodge them, unfortunately for her they only got tighter, lifting Bellatrix into the air and causing the woman to let out a small shriek.

People around the room jumped up in surprise and someone fired a spell at the vines holding the witch up, but the spell merely rebounded.

“Harry, stop this” Rodolphus said quietly beside him. Harry glanced at his soulmate before looking back at the dangling witch, her face starting to turn red. He waited a second longer before doing anything. Running his hands soothingly over Herbert’s vines as he spoke.

“It’s OK Herbert, you can let her go now. I know you felt how angry she made me and were just trying to protect me. You can put her down now.”

Slowly the vines began to unwind from around Bellatrix’s neck, dropping the gasping witch to the floor before withdrawing back into itself. One vine going up to wrap itself gently in Harry’s hair, as Harry continued to pet the plant, offering small praises.

The whole table looked at Harry… and Herbert in shock.

“What the fuck!” Blaise managed to get out, it seemed to be the accepted sentiment of the table.

Harry just shrugged, “Herbert is very smart, I tried to tell you.”

“Well, it’s safe to say we all believe you now” Voldemort said, eyeing Harry shrewdly. Harry glanced up at the Dark Lord and as their eyes met, he felt a current run through his scar. He raised his hand to rub at it and noticed Voldemort frown at the action.

While Harry had been turned away Bellatrix had made it back into her seat, with help from Carmel.

“I think we need to talk Potter; we need to clear the air between us.” She said as she rubbed her sore neck.

“What makes you think I would be interested in anything you have to say” Harry said with an angry sneer.

The table looked on in shock. Granted none knew the young teen well, but this was a side of him no one had seen thus far.

Rabastan and Rodolphus smiled softly, it was good to know their soulmate had a backbone.

Voldemort also looked amused at Harrys attitude before he decided to step in.

“I think it would be a good idea if we all speak this evening. There is much to be discussed and I feel it will lead to a greater understanding and acceptance of each other.”

Harry nodded though he didn’t look happy about it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is here, I hope you all enjoy it 😊 thanks again for the comments and reviews, you are all amazing!
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry was restless the rest of the afternoon, knowing that after dinner he would be having it out with Voldemort and his death eaters… well he would be talking to Voldemort and Bellatrix and the rest of their family. Still, it was nerve wracking and put him on edge, what could they possibly have to say? Rabastan and Rodolphus did their best to soothe him. They went for a big walk around the Manor gardens, while it was lovely, though Harry was too distracted to really appreciate the scenery. He did grip his soulmates hands tightly the whole way around and Rabastan and Rodolphus, perhaps sensing that he didn’t feel like talking walked in silence, holding his hands close.

What would they talk about tonight? Sirius’ death, obviously, probably his parent’s deaths as well. If he was completely honest, he was more upset about Sirius’ death, he had actually known Sirius, imagined a future together where they were a family. Maybe that made him a bad son, he didn’t know. He also wanted to talk about Neville’s parents. He could admit, if only to himself that he had been avoiding thinking about what his soulmates had done. He hadn’t known his soulmates for long, but he struggled to believe they could do something so cruel, he needed to hear the truth of the matter for himself.

His stomach twisted with nerves and he couldn’t force down more then a few bites of soup at dinner. He could feel Rabastan and Rodolphus’ eyes on him but thankfully they kept their opinions to themselves.

Finally, when everyone had finished eating, Voldemort cleared his throat looking serious.

“Let’s retire to the parlour, I will have Dae bring us some tea.”

Everyone around the table stood without a word and walked off. Rabastan wrapped his arm around Harry’s thin waist. He knew whatever this evening brought it would not be easy on his little soulmate. He also knew it was essential to get everything out in the open. There was no chance for future happiness if old hatreds and wounds were left to fester. Their father had believed firmly in forgiveness. Sometimes it came after a well extracted revenge but still it was important that it came. He explained that forgiving someone was more for yourself then for the other person. It didn’t mean that you were soft or weak, just that you were no longer letting that other person have a hold on yourself. It would be hard on his soulmate, but he needed to hear everything if he ever hoped to move on.

They walked into the parlour, there was a small fire crackling in the grate even though it was summer. The Manor could get quite cold. The group took their seats, uncharacteristically quiet. Dae popped in with some tea just as Voldemort cleared his throat and all eyes settled on him.

“Harry, I know what we discuss will not be easy.”

Harry grimaced, that was the understatement of the century.

“I believe we should start with Sirius, as it seems that his death is causing you the most pain at the moment.”

Even just hearing the words, Sirius and death in the same sentence made tears spring to Harry’s eyes.

“You know about the prophecy?” Voldemort inquired.

“I do now” Harry said spitefully. “Though no one had bothered to tell me about it before what happened in the Department of Mysteries. Story of my bloody life.”

A few eyebrows rose around the room at that.

“Dumbledore keeps you in the dark often?” Lucius asked nonchalantly.

“They all do, tell me the bare minimum, leave me wallowing in fear and confusion.” Harry said with a shudder.

Lucius frowned at that but didn’t speak again.

“I was desperate, in my less then sane state, to hear what the prophecy said, certain it would lead to either my success or downfall.”

“Well, I’d say worrying about what the prophecy said was what lead to your downfall.”

Voldemort inclined his head in agreement.

“I have since realised my folly, but once I had regained a semblance of a body it was all I could think about.”

Harry rolled his eyes petulantly, ignoring the flash of anger that passed over Voldemort’s face.

“Yeah, I know, the number of times I had to dream about that stupid corridor and door because you wouldn’t stop thinking about it was ridiculous. Not to mention sending Nagini to the Ministry to look for it!”

Voldemort’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“How do you know I sent Nagini to look for it?”

“I dreamt it of course, the night she attacked Mr Weasley. How do you think they were able to find him so fast?”

Voldemort looked shocked, he had known that Harry and himself shared a connection but had not realised the extent of it. Before he could ask any more questions, Carmel cleared her throat.

“Perhaps we should stay focused, otherwise we will never get through all that needs to be discussed tonight.”

“Right. Well, once I became aware of our connection” Voldemort said, indicating to Harry’s scar.

Rabastan and Rodolphus froze beside Harry and the green-eyed teen looked up at them in confusion.

“Again, that is something that can be discussed another time” Carmel said exasperatedly.

“I knew I could manipulate our connection to get you to come to the Department of Mysteries yourself. I had learned that Sirius was the most important person in your life, father and big brother all rolled into one.”

Harry let out a choked half sob at that, at the life he thought Sirius and he could’ve had together if only the world had been different.

“I know all this already” Harry said, wiping a treacherous tear from the corner of his eye.

“I just wanted to explain that I never intended for Sirius to actually come to the Ministry.”

“Just me” Harry said with a small hiccup.

“Well, yes, that was the idea” Voldemort said unrepentantly.

“But he did come” Harry said accusingly, “and she killed him!”

Bellatrix let out a sad sigh.

“I did not mean to kill Sirius, I would never hurt my own family, even if I didn’t agree with what they were doing.”

“Is that why you were firing all those hexes at him?” Harry asked with a sneer.

“Harry, the hexes I fired at him weren’t serious, just stunners and body bind curses mostly. I just hadn’t counted on the Veil…”

She looked down at her lap and Harry was shocked to see tears in her eyes, so shocked that he shut his mouth, the scathing retort he was about to utter, falling away.

“No…” he whispered.

“I swear it’s true, I will even take an oath if you want. I did not mean to kill Sirius.”

More tears slipped out of Harry’s eyes and Rodolphus pulled the small teen gently into his lap, Rabastan trying to wipe the tears away but they were flowing thick and fast.

“I think I wanted to blame you… to try to ease some of this damn guilt that is eating me alive” Harry sobbed, rubbing his aching chest, his face scrunching up in pain.

Everyone in the rooms heart broke at the sight of the crying teen, his despair so raw and primal, tearing at something inside them. Narcissa pulled Draco into her side and even though he blushed he didn’t move away.

“Harry, you were just trying to do the right thing.” Rodolphus said gently. “Trying to save your Godfather, you are not to blame here.”

“But I am!” Harry cried out. “If I hadn’t been so stupid as to believe Voldemort’s trick, he never would have been in danger in the first place. People tried to warn me, but I just didn’t listen!”

Rabastan reached out and rubbed his hands soothingly over Harry’s legs and arms. It felt like Harry had kept all his emotions bottled up since his Godfathers death, it was good that he was finally letting them out, even if Rabastan wished that it wasn’t so painful.

Harry let himself cry, clinging to his soulmates as the tears leached out of him, easing some of the guilt and sadness. He had bottled up his grief all summer, it felt good to let some of it out.

“Harry,” Voldemort said gently. “You are not to blame. It is a series of unfortunate ‘what if’s’. If I hadn’t tricked you into coming to the Ministry, if Bella hadn’t hit Sirius with that spell, hell, if Dumbledore had told you the truth about the prophecy from the beginning, Sirius’ death could have been avoided. I am sorry for the part I played in his death.”

“As am I” Bellatrix said solemnly.

Harry blinked at the pair, he didn’t doubt the sincerity in their words, and it was a shock.

He couldn’t think of anything to say so he just nodded.

“The end of the Black line,” Narcissa murmured sadly and it took Harry a moment to remember that she was originally a Black as well.

“Umm… well actually” Harry began, rubbing his face and eyes as he tried to right himself. “I’m the last Black.”

The whole room stared at him.

“What are you talking about Potter, I’m more of a Black then you are” Draco said with a frown.

“Sirius blood adopted me last summer, I am actually Harry James Potter-Black. I’m just as much a Black as I am a Potter. Sirius said I got the black nose” he said with a small smile, pointing to his cute button nose.

No one spoke for several moments and Harry began to feel nervous, before Blaise let out a small chuckle that soon developed into a deep belly laugh.

“Of course, you are” he gasped between guffaws.

Draco started to laugh as well.

“Expect the unexpected around Potter” the blonde chuckled.

Harry blushed in embarrassment.

“So, our mate is actually a Potter-Black” Rodolphus purred in his ear. The brothers eyed him carefully and could pick out some other Black traits now that they were looking. The nose definitely, but there was also something about the shape of his eyes that reminded them of Bella and Narcissa.

“I- I was going to tell you” Harry stammered.

Before Rabastan or Rodolphus could continue Carmel cleared her throat again.

“I believe there is more still to be addressed” she said sternly, and the room sobered.

It was good they all had her to keep them focused.

“Right,” Harry said wearily, “what’s next?”

“Your parents…” Voldemort said softly.

Harry froze, “what’s there to discuss? You were batshit crazy and let a stupid prophecy rule your actions leading to the deaths of my parents.”

Voldemort looked taken aback at Harry’s blunt assessment and Harry wondered if anyone had ever spoken to the Dark Lord like that.

“I love my parents. I- I miss them, but I never knew them, I don’t really remember them. When I was young, I would dream about them coming to take me away, about anyone coming to take me away, about the life I could have had if they hadn’t died but I gave up on childish dreams a long time ago.” The room looked at him sadly after that pronouncement. “You do realise that by going there that night you marked me as your equal” he said pointing to his scar again, “thus fulfilling part of the prophecy, if you believe in that shit anyway.”

Harry wondered if there was a limit for the number of times a dark lord could look shocked in one night.

“You’ve heard the prophecy?” Voldemort asked quietly.

“Ah, yeah, Dumbledore told me after Sirius’ death.”

“Could you tell me what it says?”

Harry looked unsure at that, what if Voldemort tried to kill him again?

“I will swear an oath not to harm you, no matter what the prophecy says, if that will put you more at ease?”

“I guess” Harry said, still with some trepidation. “Swear the oath first.”

Voldemort did so without hesitation, so Harry started to repeat the prophecy.

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._

Harry looked at Voldemort as he finished, waiting for a response but the Dark Lord seemed to be lost in thought. He glanced around the room and everyone seemed to be pondering the meaning behind the words.

“Is there anything you wish to discuss?” Carmel asked politely, seeing that everyone else was still lost in thought.

Harry nodded nervously.

“Two things, one, why aren’t you insane anymore?” Harry asked Voldemort and the Dark Lord sighed in resignation.

“Fair question, I suppose. Simply, through the help of Severus and my own quite extraordinary power we were able to create a spell to right my unstable mind.”

Harry nodded; he knew there was no way that he would understand the mechanics of it all but still, it was interesting.

“What was your other question?”

Harry glanced at his soulmates.

“I want to know what happened the night that Neville’s parents, the Longbottom’s were tortured.”

He felt Rodolphus shift beneath him, Rabastan sharing a glance with Bellatrix.

Rabastan cleared his throat nervously and began.

“Harry, I want to be completely honest with you” Rabastan said earnestly, taking the smaller hand in his own.

“I have done things in my life that I am not proud of. We, that is myself, Rodolphus, Bella and Barty, went to the Longbottom’s that night… and we did torture them.”

Harry felt a wave of nausea roll through him; he had known it had happened but still it was hard to hear. Harry shifted restlessly; he wasn’t sure what he was doing.

“Wait Harry, hear me out.” Rabastan said and Rodolphus tightened his hold just a little thinking Harry was trying to leave.

“We did torture them, but… but not for long. Just to weaken them a little and then Bella used legilimency to read their minds. You wouldn’t know this, but Bella is a very accomplished legilimens. We had no need to torture them to insanity for information, we found out very quickly that they knew nothing of our Lords whereabouts and left.”

Harry’s confused green eyes stared into Rabastan’s deep brown.

“Then what happened to them?”

“We later found out, after we had already been sent to Azkaban, that Barty had gone back to the Longbottom’s after we left that night. We had immobilised the Longbottom’s when we left, it was easy for Barty to sneak back in. He didn’t believe that they knew nothing.”

Rabastan looked sad at that.

“I am not perfect Harry; we are not perfect” he said with a wave around the room. “But I do have my limits.”

“Well why were you sent to Azkaban then, if you didn’t do it?”

“Several reasons actually” Rodolphus said sardonically.

“We _are_ supporters of Voldemort, we _did_ torture the Longbottom’s even if we weren’t the ones to torture them into insanity and most importantly, because Crouch sent us to Azkaban without a proper trial. Refused to take any evidence that might have resulted in a reduced sentence.”

Rodolphus eyes darkened in anger as he spoke, Rabastan’s expression mirroring his brothers.

Harry felt anger course through him. It was exactly what had happened to Sirius! People not given a fair trial, he wondered how many others were locked in Azkaban who didn’t deserve to be or who at least didn’t deserve to be in there as long as they had been, it wasn’t fair… it wasn’t right.

“Bloody Crouch” he snarled, and his soul mates actually looked surprised at the fury radiating off their mate.

Rodolphus gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, touched that their mate was so upset on their behalf.

“It’s OK Harry, Crouch paid for it all in the end” Rabastan murmured, a vindictive glint in his eyes. “They both did.”

Harry nodded but he wasn’t happy, his mates were still fugitives, unable to even leave the house unless under a heavy disguise.

Harry took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, letting the anger leave him, he could deal with that later, as the anger faded, he was left with a bone deep weariness.

“I… I think that’s about all I can take tonight,” he said softly.

“Understandable” Voldemort said. “I feel there is much more that we still need to discuss but that can be done at another point in time.”

Harry went to ask what else needed to be discussed, but instead let out a squeak as Rodolphus scooped him up into his arms and threw him over his shoulder.

Harry would deny it if asked, just how much it turned him on that his mate was so strong. He felt a shiver run down his spine as a large hand slapped his behind lightly.

“Well, if you don’t mind, we would like to take our soulmate to bed now.” Rodolphus said with a leer that cause Harry to blush and everyone else to laugh.

“Good night.”


End file.
